Scanning SQUID imaging of metastable states in 1T-TaS₂

Visualizing the current distribution in materials is a powerful tool to investigate and understand unconventional transport they exhibit. In the present work, we study a few microns thick devices of the layered chalcogenide material 1T-TaS₂. Pulsed DC excitation of the commensurate charge density wave (CCDW) phase in the system leads to a controllable, non-volatile, resistance-switching states. We use scanning SQUID microscopy to image, in-situ, the local current density map by mapping the field generated by the current flow. The images reveal the presence of electrical domains in the device and their effect on the current flow.