Visualization of chiral electronic domains and defects on layered chalcogenides
Topological defects have been extensively studied in ferromagnets, liquid crystals and ferroelectric materials. Analogically, it is interesting to understand if charge orders can also form topological structures and how they can be visualized. In this work, we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to spatially resolve electronic structure in layered chalcogenides. We find rotational electronic domains that are degenerate in energy. Further characterized by atomic force microscope and electron diffractions, we find these domains are likely on the surface and forming defects where chirality can be defined. The observations of energy degeneracy and chirality highly resemble the conditions for identifying defects with topological properties.
Yi Lin is a postdoc scholar in the Materials Science Division at Berkeley National Lab. He holds a PhD degree in Applied Physics from Columbia University. He originally came from China where he completed a bachelor’s degree in physics at Renmin University of China. His research has focused on studying light-driven phenomena in quantum materials using time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. More info about Yi can be found at https://yilin.lbl.gov/