Abstract
Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) uses a cantilever arm to track the electromechanical motion of the electric dipole moment to visualize the ferroelectric domain structure, which provides an important insight into the physics of switchable electric polarization—especially for memory devices and integrated microelectronics. Here, I provide a tutorial on single frequency vertical PFM, the most basic mode of PFM. I will start with the basic components of atomic force microscopy (AFM), including tip, cantilever, X–Y stage, Z actuator, and lock-in amplifier. Contact mode AFM will be briefly explained and discussed, where you can find two modes: constant deflection and constant height modes. Single-frequency vertical PFM splits the frequency domain of tip vibration into low and high frequencies and uses a low-pass filter to nullify any motion caused by topography (constant deflection). In contrast, the lock-in amplifier will pinpoint the vibration induced by the vertical piezoelectric strain along the sample’s surface normal (constant height). This tutorial will provide an overall and detailed step by step instruction to conduct PFM imaging and piezoresponse hysteresis loop measurement using atomic force microscopy and a lock-in amplifier and teach how to interpret the PFM images and the piezoresponse hysteresis loops for various applications.
Highlights
Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) is a mode of atomic force microscopy (AFM), enabling users to map and manipulate the electric dipole moment in piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials.1–5 Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), since its inception in 1992,6 has attracted attention from the ferroelectric community
Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) uses a cantilever arm to track the electromechanical motion of the electric dipole moment to visualize the ferroelectric domain structure, which provides an important insight into the physics of switchable electric polarization— especially for memory devices and integrated microelectronics
PFM, since its inception in 1992,6 has attracted attention from the ferroelectric community. It has been an important part of major ferroelectric related conferences such as the International Meeting on Ferroelectricity (IMF), International Symposium on Integrated Functionalities (ISIF), IEEE International Symposium on Applications of Ferroelectrics (IEEE-ISAF), and PFM workshops
Summary
Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) is a mode of atomic force microscopy (AFM), enabling users to map and manipulate the electric dipole moment in piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials. PFM, since its inception in 1992,6 has attracted attention from the ferroelectric community. PFM, since its inception in 1992,6 has attracted attention from the ferroelectric community. Recent advances in PFM have expanded the list of its applications and inspired the birth of electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM) that can map and manipulate ionic species in ion conductors and electrode materials. There are more advanced PFM techniques such as multifrequency PFM [e.g., band excitation PFM35 and dual ac resonance tracking (DART) PFM36], I will focus on the simplest and oldest PFM, which is the single frequency vertical PFM (SFV-PFM). This tutorial provides an overall and detailed step by step instruction for. Scitation.org/journal/jap graduate students and interested researchers to conduct PFM using atomic force microscopy and a lock-in amplifier and help them learn how to interpret the PFM images and the piezoresponse hysteresis loops correctly
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