Tip-induced creation and Jahn-Teller distortions of sulfur vacancies in single-layer MoS2

Vacancies in semiconducting 2D transition metal dichalcogenides enable studies of quantum phenomena at the nanoscale, such as single photon emission or Jahn-Teller distortions. Here, the authors show that a scanning tunneling microscope can enable local creation of single vacancies as well as vacancy dimers in single-layer MoS₂. Charging the vacancy through local gating leads to two distinct types of Jahn-Teller distortions, in quantitative agreement with a00exb i00exn00exi00ext00exi00exo calculations. Strong hybridization within vacancy dimers illustrates the potential for artificial defect lattices with tailored electronic band structures.