Fig. 3
From: Discovery of a strain-stabilised smectic electronic order in LiFeAs
Vortices in the modulated phase. a Topographic image of the modulated phase taken in the presence of 9 T out-of-plane field at T = 4 K (Vs = 25 mV, Is = 50 pA). A red arrow indicates the direction of the strain. b Corresponding dI/dV map recorded at zero bias. Vortices are seen as areas of high zero bias conductance (red). c dI/dV map taken at bias voltage of −0.5 mV on an unstrained sample in the presence of an out-of-plane field of 5T at 1.2 K. Scale bars in a–c: 12.5 nm. d dI/dV spectrum taken in the centre of one of the vortices formed on the modulated phase (black, the position is marked with a cross in a, b and those on the surface of an unstrained LiFeAs crystal (mid-blue), respectively. An averaged spectrum taken from a defect-free region on unstrained LiFeAs at 0T, 1.2 K (light-blue) is included for reference. Spectra are vertically offset for clarity. Dashed horizontal lines indicate the positions of zero conductance for each spectrum. For b, c, Vs = 25 mV, Is = 0.3 nA
