One-dimensional electron gas confined along nanowrinkles in a unidirectional charge density wave material DyTe₃

Two-dimensional (2D) materials inherently exhibit instabilities. Structurally, such instabilities may lead to modulations along the third dimension, e.g., wrinkles. Electronically, 2D instabilities can manifest themselves as charge density waves (CDWs). Although wrinkles can alter anisotropic electronic structures that are susceptible to forming CDWs, little is known about their impact on broken-symmetry ground states. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, we investigate the CDW states on the wrinkled surface of DyTe3. We identify elongated, parallel nanoscale wrinkles that are stabilized by ribbon-shaped defects. Interestingly, the CDW order persists across the nanowrinkles with a gradual phase shift but is locally suppressed near the defects, where phase windings occur. In addition, these defects induce quantum confinement effects along the nanowrinkles, indicating the presence of one-dimensional metallic states with hole-like dispersion. In contrast, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy identifies a gap along the wrinkle direction. We ascribe this discrepancy to strain-induced changes in the Fermi surface, which leads to the closure of the gap at the sites of the nanowrinkles. Taken together, our results underscore the complex interplay between structural features and Fermi surface topology, allowing for the deliberate manipulation of quantum states in strongly correlated systems via local crystal deformations.