Related papers: Materials Contrast in Piezoresponse Force Microsco…
As a consequence of elasticity, mechanical deformations of crystals occur on a length scale comparable to their thickness. This is exemplified by applying a homogeneous electric field to a multi-domain ferroelectric crystal: as one domain…
Piezoresponse force-microscopy (PFM) has become the standard tool to investigate ferroelectrics on the micro- and nanoscale. However, reliability of PFM signals is often problematic and their quantification is challenging and thus not…
The nondestructive imaging of subsurface structures on the nanometer scale has been a long-standing desire in both science and industry. A few impressive images were published so far that demonstrate the general feasibility by combining…
We present a methodology to mitigate the effect of the parasitic electrostatic contribution usually present in piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) measurement for quantitative characterization of polycrystalline piezoelectric thin films…
Ferroelectric materials are characterized by the presence of an electric dipole that can be reversed by application of an external electric field, a feature that is exploited in ferroelectric memories. All ferroelectrics are piezoelectric,…
Emergent functionalities of structural and topological defects in ferroelectric materials underpin an extremely broad spectrum of applications ranging from domain wall electronics to high dielectric and electromechanical responses. Many of…
We experimentally investigated the contrast mechanism of infrared photoinduced force microscopy (PiFM) for recording vibrational resonances. Extensive experiments have demonstrated that spectroscopic contrast in PiFM is mediated by…
In recent years, the investigation of low-dimensional ferroelectrics has attracted great attention for their promising applications in nano devices. Piezoelectricity is one of the most core properties of ferroelectric materials, which plays…
Spintronic devices based on antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials hold the promise of fast switching speeds and robustness against magnetic fields. Different device concepts have been predicted and experimentally demonstrated, such as…
In 2014, Charge Gradient Microscopy (CGM) was first reported as a new scanning probe imaging mode, particularly well-suited for the characterisation of ferroelectrics. The implementation of the technique is straightforward; it involves…
Despite extensive research on piezoelectric polymers since the discovery of piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) in 1969, the fundamental physics of polymer piezoelectricity has remained elusive. Based on the classic principle of…
The polarization and strain response of ferroelectric materials at fields below the macroscopic coercive field is of a paramount importance for the operation of many electronic devices. The response of real ferroelectric and related…
Domain walls in ferroelectrics exhibit a plethora of phases and functionalities not found in the bulk. The interplay of electrostatic, chemical, topological, and distortive inhomogeneities at the walls can be so complex, however, that this…
The presence of electrostatic forces and associated artifacts complicates the interpretation of piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM). Eliminating these artifacts provides an opportunity for…
Piezomagnetism, linear response between strain and magnetic field, is relatively unexplored cross-correlation but has promising potential as a novel probe of time-reversal-symmetry breaking in various classes of materials. Interestingly,…
The Photonic Force Microscope (PFM) is an opto-mechanical technique based on an optical trap that can be assumed to probe forces in microscopic systems. This technique has been used to measure forces in the range of pico- and femto-Newton,…
Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) has established itself as a very successful and reliable imaging and spectroscopic tool for measuring a wide variety of nanoscale electromechanical functionalities. Quantitative imaging of nanoscale…
We describe and demonstrate a method by which the nonlinear piezoelectric properties of a piezoelectric material may be measured by detecting the force that it applies on a suspended micromechanical resonator at one of its mechanical…
Ferroelectrics have a spontaneous electrical polarization that is arranged into domains and can be reversed by an externally applied field. This high versatility makes them useful in enabling components such as capacitors, sensors, and…
The thermodynamics and kinetics of tip-induced polarization switching in Piezoresponse Force Microscopy in the presence of surface charge defects is studied using the combination of analytical and numerical techniques. The signature of the…