Nano-scale ferroelectric domain differentiation in periodically poled lithium niobate with auger electron spectroscopy

A new method for characterizing lithium niobate +/-Z ferroelectric polarization domains using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) is presented. The of periodically poled samples are found to be differentiable the peak amplitude oxygen KLL transition, with -Z having a larger peak-amplitude as compared +Z domains. separation between dependent on primary beam current, necessitating balance insulating charging under and achieving sufficient signal noise in separation. AES amplitude-based domain characterization demonstrated fields view (FOV) ranging from 1 μ m 78 m. Domain spatial resolution 91 nm at FOV.