Epitaxial single layer NbS₂ on Au(111): synthesis, structure, and electronic properties

We report on the epitaxial growth of single layer NbS$_2$ on Au(111) and determine both its crystalline and electronic structure by a combination of low-energy electron diffraction, scanning tunnelling microscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The layer is found to grow in the 1H structural phase with a lattice constant of (3.29$\pm$0.03)~\AA, a value comparable to the bulk 2H NbS$_2$ lattice constant. The photoemission data reveals a metallic band structure down to a temperature of 30~K. The observed bands are rather broad and consistent with either a strong NbS$_2$-substrate interaction or with the recently reported interplay of strong many-body effects in single layer NbS$_2$ \cite{Loon:2018aa}. No indications of a charge density wave are observed.