Impact of the tip radius on the lateral resolution in piezoresponse force microscopy

Abstract

We present a quantitative investigation of the impact of tip radius as well as sample type and thickness on the lateral resolution in piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) investigating bulk single crystals. The observed linear dependence of the width of the domain wall on the tip radius as well as the independence of the lateral resolution on the specific crystal-type are validated by a simple theoretical model. Using a Ti-Pt-coated tip with a nominal radius of 15 nm the so far highest lateral resolution in bulk crystals of only 17 nm was obtained.

References in corpus (5)

• Ab initio study of ferroelectric domain walls in PbTiO3
• First-principles investigation of 180-degree domain walls in BaTiO_3
• Quantitative analysis of ferroelectric domain imaging with piezoresponse force microscopy
• Universality of the Scaling Law for Ferroic Domains
• Impact of elasticity on the piezoresponse of adjacent ferroelectric domains investigated by scanning force microscopy

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Electrostatic topology of ferroelectric domains in YMnO${}_3$
• Electrical half-wave rectification at ferroelectric domain walls
• Impact of Electrostatic Forces in Contact Mode Scanning Force Microscopy
• Contrast Mechanisms for the Detection of Ferroelectric Domains with Scanning Force Microscopy
• Depth Resolution of Piezoresponse Force Microscopy
• Sol-Gel Derived Ferroelectric Nanoparticles Investigated by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy
• Lateral Signals in Piezoresponse Force Microscopy at Domain Boundaries of Ferroelectric Crystals
• Low-voltage nanodomain writing in He-implanted lithium niobate crystals