Sol-Gel Derived Ferroelectric Nanoparticles Investigated by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

Abstract

Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) was used to investigate the ferroelectric properties of sol-gel derived LiNbO${}_3$ nanoparticles. To determine the degree of ferroelectricity we took large-area images and performed statistical image-analysis. The ferroelectric behavior of single nanoparticles was verified by poling experiments using the PFM tip. Finally we carried out simultaneous measurements of the in-plane and the out-of-plane piezoresponse of the nanoparticles, followed by measurements of the same area after rotation of the sample by 90${}^{\circ }$ and 180${}^{\circ }$. Such measurements basically allow to determine the direction of polarization of every single particle.

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