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

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.