Features of pinning of a charge-density wave in quasi-two-dimensional compounds

Effects of the collective motion (sliding) of a charge density wave in the TbTe$_3$ quasi-two-dimensional conductor have been studied in a wide temperature interval. Immediately after cooling to temperatures below the Peierls transition temperature $T_{CDW}= 336$ K, the threshold field $E_t$ of sliding initiation of the charge density wave has a nearly linear temperature dependence. The aging of samples at a fixed temperature $T_0 < T_{CDW}$ for several hours significantly modifies the sliding of the charge density wave. The threshold field increases significantly and the temperature dependence of $E_t$ becomes nonmonotonic, demonstrating a large maximum at $T = T_0$. The observed effect is attributed to the aging-induced formation of an ordered structure (lattice) of defects of the charge density wave and to change in the pinning regime at the melting of this structure.