High Resolution Electromechanical Imaging of Ferroelectric Materials in a Liquid Environment by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy
- 16 June 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 96 (23), 237602
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.96.237602
Abstract
High-resolution imaging of ferroelectric materials using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) is demonstrated in an aqueous environment. The elimination of both long-range electrostatic forces and capillary interactions results in a localization of the ac field to the tip-surface junction and allows the tip-surface contact area to be controlled. This approach results in spatial resolutions approaching the limit of the intrinsic domain-wall width. Imaging at frequencies corresponding to high-order cantilever resonances minimizes the viscous damping and added mass effects on cantilever dynamics and allows sensitivities comparable to ambient conditions. PFM in liquids will provide novel opportunities for high-resolution studies of ferroelectric materials, imaging of soft polymer materials, and imaging of biological systems in physiological environments on, ultimately, the molecular level.This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
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