Domains, Domain Ordering, and Phase Slips in the Nearly-Commensurate Charge Density Wave Phase of 1T-TaS2

The nearly-commensurate (NC) charge density wave (CDW) state of 1T-TaS2 consists of hexagonally-ordered domains. Within these domains, the CDW state is reported to be commensurate with the lattice. However, at domain walls, the CDW state undergoes phase slips. We use scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to study the nearly-commensurate CDW state so as to detail, at the atomic-scale, domains, domain ordering, and CDW phase slips in the NC-CDW phase of 1T-TaS2. In particular, we examine how these imaged real-space features manifest themselves in Fourier transforms of STM topographic images.