Detection mechanism for ferroelectric domain boundaries with lateral force microscopy

Ferroelectric Domain Imaging Multiferroic Films Using Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

Recently, multiferroic materials with the magnetoelectric coupling of ferroelectric (or anti‐ ferroelectric) properties and ferromagnetic (or antiferromagnetic) properties have attracted a lot of attention.[1-4] Among them, BiFeO3(BFO) and YMnO3has been intensively studied. For such ABO3perovskite structured ferroelectric materials, they usually show antiferromag‐ netic order because the same B...

Imaging mechanism of piezoresponse force microscopy of ferroelectric surfaces

In order to determine the origin of image contrast in piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), analytical descriptions of the complex interactions between a small tip and ferroelectric surface are derived for several sets of limiting conditions. Image charge calculations are used to determine potential and field distributions at the tip-surface junction between a spherical tip and an anisotropic d...

Contrast Mechanism for Visualization of Ferroelectric Domains with Scanning Force Microscopy

Scanning force microscopy is an ideal technique for non-destructive investigation of ferroelectric domains. Application of such domains for efficient optical frequency conversion and for ultrahigh-density data storage requires μm to nm-sized domain structures. Thus the high lateral resolution offered by scanning force microscopy is highly desired. However, the mechanism causing the domain contr...

Atomic force microscopy-based experimental setup for studying domain switching dynamics in ferroelectric capacitors

Consequences of the background in piezoresponse force microscopy on the imaging of ferroelectric domain structures.

The interpretation of ferroelectric domain images obtained with a piezoresponse force microscope (PFM) is discussed. The influence of an inherent experimental background on the domain contrast in PFM images (enhancement, nulling, inversion) as well as on the shape and the location of the domain boundaries are described. We present experimental results to evidence our analysis of the influence o...