Atomic-Scale Studies of the Nearly-Commensurate and Incommensurate Charge Density Wave Phases of 1T-TaS₂

The charge density wave (CDW) compound 1T-TaS₂ hosts interesting and diverse physics including possible Mott insulating and quantum spin liquid states. At low temperatures 1T-TaS₂ is in a commensurate CDW state and transitions into triclinic, nearly-commensurate, and incommensurate CDW states with increasing temperature. While studies, using multiple experimental techniques, have investigated all four CDW phases, considerable emphasis has been placed on studying the low-temperature commensurate CDW state. Here we present our scanning tunneling microscopy studies on the higher-temperature nearly-commensurate and incommensurate CDW states with a focus on domains, domain walls, and their changes with temperature.