{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T00:29:43Z","timestamp":1760228983881,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,27]],"date-time":"2022-05-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1653609600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Symmetry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Symmetry lowering phase transitions in ferroelectrics, magnets, and materials with various other forms of inherent order lead to the formation of topological defects. Their non-trivial real-space topology is characterized by a topological charge, which represents the topological invariant. The study of topological defects in such materials has seen increased interest over the last decade. Among the methods used for their study, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) with its many variants has provided valuable new insight into these structures at the nanoscale. In this perspective, various approaches are discussed, and different techniques are compared with regard to their ability to investigate topological defect properties.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/sym14061098","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,31]],"date-time":"2022-05-31T02:30:06Z","timestamp":1653964206000},"page":"1098","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Scanning Probe Microscopy Investigation of Topological Defects"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Jan","family":"Seidel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia"},{"name":"ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"591","DOI":"10.1103\/RevModPhys.51.591","article-title":"The topological theory of defects in ordered media","volume":"51","author":"Mermin","year":"1979","journal-title":"Rev. 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