Significance of electrostatic interactions due to surface potential in piezoresponse force microscopy

Seol, Daehee; Kang, Soo‐Jung; Sun, Changhyo; Kim, Yunseok

doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2019.112839

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The same experiments have also been conducted on X‐cut quartz single crystal (0.5 mm thick) where the piezoelectricity is weak and the electrostatic force contribution can be prominent. [ 18 ] Despite the weak piezoelectricity, the results still show a similar constant trend (Figure S6, Supporting Information), which strongly indicates that the contribution from the electrostatic force in HM‐PFM measurement has been significantly minimized. Therefore, the hysteresis loops (Figure 2g,h) measured by using continuous DC method with a soft cantilever can manifest neglectable electrostatic force effects.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…The existence of the electrostatic force can give rise to significant artifacts or misinterpretations in PFM‐based ferroelectric studies, resulting large numbers of ferroelectric‐like observations in many non‐ferroelectric materials. [ 6–8,14–19 ] Meanwhile, due to the pronounced contribution of the electrostatic force, researchers usually measure the ferroelectric hysteresis loop by using the pulsed DC method in which the electrostatic force effect can be minimized but the polarization back‐switching effect is involved inevitably. [ 3,15,20,21 ] Therefore, a large amount of research work has been implemented to eliminate or quantify the electrostatic force contribution in PFM measurements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, PFM is based on inverse piezoelectric effect and thereby detects the piezoelectric deformation of the sample in response to an external electric field applied between the tip and sample, thus a concomitant electrostatic force will be always involved in the final PFM signal, causing large ambiguity to the interpretation of the measurement (8,12,15,19,20,44,45). Due to the great importance, a large amount of research work has been continuously implemented to eliminate or quantify the electrostatic force contribution in the PFM measurements (3,8,12,15,20,22,(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57), but nearly all of the proposed solutions, including using stiff cantilever, applying DC compensation voltage, imaging in liquid environment, using higher eigenmode and interferometric detection as well as off-line analysis strategies, are subject to many specific limitations (12,48,51,(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nanoscale Ferroelectric Characterization with Heterodyne Megasonic Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

et al. 2021

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Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), as a powerful nanoscale characterization technique, has been extensively utilized to elucidate diverse underlying physics of ferroelectricity. However, intensive studies of conventional PFM have revealed a growing number of concerns and limitations which are largely challenging its validity and applications. In this study, an advanced PFM technique is reported, namely heterodyne megasonic piezoresponse force microscopy (HM-PFM), which uses 10 6 to 10 8 Hz high-frequency excitation and heterodyne method to measure the piezoelectric strain at nanoscale. It is found that HM-PFM can unambiguously provide standard ferroelectric domain and hysteresis loop measurements, and an effective domain characterization with excitation frequency up to ≈110 MHz is demonstrated. Most importantly, owing to the high-frequency and heterodyne scheme, the contributions from both electrostatic force and electrochemical strain can be significantly minimized in HM-PFM. Furthermore, a special measurement of difference-frequency piezoresponse frequency spectrum (DFPFS) is developed on HM-PFM and a distinct DFPFS characteristic is observed on the materials with piezoelectricity. By performing DFPFS measurement, a truly existed but very weak electromechanical coupling in CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 perovskite is revealed. It is believed that HM-PFM can be an excellent candidate for the ferroelectric or piezoelectric studies where conventional PFM results are highly controversial.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nanoscale Ferroelectric Characterization with Heterodyne Megasonic Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

et al. 2021

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“…[88,89] The electrostatic effect originates from the Coulombic electrostatic force between the SPM cantilever/tip and the sample surface and is usually an inevitable interaction in PFM as well as in other voltage-modulated SPM modes. [90][91][92] It is challenging to remove these effects from the PFM signal entirely. For example, the electrostatic effect caused by the surface potential, that is, the contact potential difference, can result in the misinterpretation of the polarization direction in PFM images [70,93] and can further induce phase flipping in the hysteresis loops notwithstanding the absence of actual switching.…”

Section: Non-piezoelectric Contributions To the Pfm Signalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nonetheless, several previous studies have demonstrated how to minimize the electrostatic force, for example, increasing the spring constant of the SPM cantilever, [41,100] conducting measurements at higher AC frequencies [101] and compensating the surface potential by applying an external voltage. [70,92] In the case of electrochemical strain, surface displacement occurs underneath the SPM tip owing to the Vegard strain in ionically active materials. [102][103][104][105] A local surface volume change can be caused by local ion redistribution induced by external electric fields underneath the SPM tip.…”

Section: Non-piezoelectric Contributions To the Pfm Signalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress in the Nanoscale Evaluation of Piezoelectric and Ferroelectric Properties via Scanning Probe Microscopy

et al. 2020

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Piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials have garnered significant interest owing to their excellent physical properties and multiple potential applications. Accordingly, the need for evaluating piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties has also increased. The piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties are evaluated macroscopically using laser interferometers and polarization–electric field loop measurements. However, as the research focus is shifted from bulk to nanosized materials, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques have been suggested as an alternative approach for evaluating piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties. In this Progress Report, the recent progress on the nanoscale evaluation of piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of diverse materials using SPM‐based methods is summarized. Among the SPM techniques, the focus is on recent studies that are related to piezoresponse force microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy; further, the utilization of these two modes to understand piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties at the nanoscale level is discussed. This work can provide guidelines for evaluating the piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of materials based on SPM techniques.

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Ionically Mediated Mechanical Deformation Associated with Memristive Switching

Sriboriboon

Qiao

Kang

et al. 2021

Adv Funct Materials

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Ionically mediated phenomena underpin the functioning of various devices, including batteries, solid oxide fuel cells, memristors, and neuromorphic devices. The ionic behavior corresponding to ionically mediated phenomena causes not only variations in the electrical properties but also mechanical deformation, which is crucial for device reliability. However, the interrelation between ionically mediated electrical properties and mechanical deformation has not been elucidated yet. This study investigates ionically mediated mechanical deformation accompanied by memristive switching in a TiO 2 single crystal through simultaneous conductive atomic force microscopy and electrochemical strain microscopy. A comprehensive analysis indicates the existence of a relationship between mechanical deformation and memristive switching based on the ionic behavior. Furthermore, an ionic state variable is used to simplify the interrelation between the electrochemical strain hysteresis and memristive switching associated with applied voltage. This study provides insights on the ionic behavior and can be extended to other systems for the general analysis of the relationship between mechanical deformation and electrical properties.

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Significance of electrostatic interactions due to surface potential in piezoresponse force microscopy

Cited by 18 publications

References 25 publications

Nanoscale Ferroelectric Characterization with Heterodyne Megasonic Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

Nanoscale Ferroelectric Characterization with Heterodyne Megasonic Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

Recent Progress in the Nanoscale Evaluation of Piezoelectric and Ferroelectric Properties via Scanning Probe Microscopy

Ionically Mediated Mechanical Deformation Associated with Memristive Switching

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