As a lattice interference effect, moirésuperlattices feature a magnification effect that they respond sensitively to both the extrinsic mechanical perturbations and intrinsic atomic reconstructions. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, we observe that long-wavelength WS 2 superlattices are reconstructed into various moirémorphologies, ranging from regular hexagons to heavily deformed ones. We show that a dedicated interplay between the extrinsic nonuniform heterostrain and the intrinsic atomic reconstruction is responsible for this interesting moiréstructure evolution. Importantly, the interplay between these two factors also introduces a local inhomogeneous intralayer strain within a moire. Contrary to the commonly reported electronic modulation that occurred at the valence band edge due to interlayer hybridization, we find that this local intralayer strain induces a strong modulation at K point of the conduction band, reaching up to 300 meV in the heavily deformed moire. Our microscopic explorations provide valuable information in understanding the intriguing physics in TMD moireś.

No abstract