Spatially-resolved electronic structure of stripe domains in IrTe2 through electronic structure microscopy

Obtaining spatially-resolved electronic structure information at the microscale is key to a complete understanding of phase transitions and domain separation in the solid-state. Here, micro- and nanoscale angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals the electronic structure of domains in the striped phase of IrTe2. Phase separation in the nanometer- to micrometer-scale is characteristic for correlated materials, for example, high temperature superconductors, colossal magnetoresistance manganites, Mott insulators, etc. Resolving the electronic structure with spatially-resolved information is critical for revealing the fundamental physics of such inhomogeneous systems yet this is challenging experimentally. Here by using nanometer- and micrometer-spot angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopies (NanoARPES and MicroARPES), we reveal the spatially-resolved electronic structure in the stripe phase of IrTe2. Each separated domain shows two-fold symmetric electronic structure with the mirror axis aligned along 3 equivalent directions, and 6 x 1 replicas are clearly identified. Moreover, such electronic structure inhomogeneity disappears across the stripe phase transition, suggesting that electronic phase with broken symmetry induced by the 6 x 1 modulation is directly related to the stripe phase transition of IrTe2. Our work demonstrates the capability of NanoARPES and MicroARPES in elucidating the fundamental physics of phase-separated materials.