  We investigate in atomic scale the electronic phase separation occurring in
the well known quasi 1D charge-density wave (CDW) phase of the In atomic wire
array on a Si(111) surface. The characteristic atomic scale defects, originated
from excess In atoms, are found to be actively involved in the formation of the
phase boundary between the metallic and the CDW phases by extensive analysis of
scanning tunneling microscopy images at various temperatures. These particular
defects flip the phase of the quasi 1D CDW to impose strong local constraints
in the CDW correlation. We show that such local constraints and the substantial
interwire CDW interaction induce local condensates of CDW and the phase
separation between the metallic and the CDW phases. This work unveils the
atomistic origin of the electronic phase separation, highlighting the
importance of atomic scale structures of defects and their collective
interaction in electronically inhomogeneous materials.
