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

The nearly-commensurate charge density wave (CDW) state of 1T-TaS₂ consists of hexagonally ordered domains. Within these domains, the CDW state is commensurate with the lattice. However, there are domain walls which include phase slips in the CDW state between neighboring domains. Here we combine our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) data of the nearly-commensurate CDW state with computer simulations to study, at the atomic-scale, domains, domain ordering, and phase slips at domain walls in 1T-TaS₂. In particular, we examine how these features manifest themselves in Fourier transforms of STM topographic images.