Polarization-dependent photoemission electron microscopy for domain imaging of inorganic and molecular materials

Atreyie Ghosh; Joseph L Spellberg; Sarah B King

doi:10.1063/5.0225765

Polarization-dependent photoemission electron microscopy for domain imaging of inorganic and molecular materials

J Chem Phys. 2024 Sep 21;161(11):110901. doi: 10.1063/5.0225765.

Authors

Atreyie Ghosh¹, Joseph L Spellberg^{1

2}, Sarah B King^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
² Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.

PMID: 39282829
DOI: 10.1063/5.0225765

Abstract

Polarization-dependent photoemission electron microscopy (PD-PEEM) exploits spatial variation in the optical selection rules of materials to image domain formation and material organization on the nanoscale. In this Perspective, we discuss the mechanism of PD-PEEM that results in the observed image contrast in experiments and provide examples of a wide range of material domain structures that PD-PEEM has been able to elucidate, including molecular and polymer domains, local electronic structure and defect symmetry, (anti)ferroelectricity, and ferromagnetism. In the end, we discuss challenges and new directions that are possible with this tool for probing domain structure in materials, including investigating the formation of transient ordered states, multiferroics, and the influence of molecular and polymer order and disorder on excited state dynamics and charge transport.