Detail:
Abstract: Many of the electronic properties of materials are enclosed in the symmetry of their atomic or molecular lattice. Good examples are ferroelectrics that break space inversion symmetry or ferromagnets that break time reversal symmetry. In recent years advances in scanning probe microscopies show that in addition to these macroscopic phenomena, novel properties emerge at the nanoscale. In addition to the symmetry, also local topology, such as vorticity, determine the properties of these materials on the nanoscale. This provides new opportunities for novel device configurations.
