Investigations of ferroelectric polycrystalline bulks and thick films using piezoresponse force microscopy

Abstract

In recent years, ferroelectric/piezoelectric polycrystalline bulks and thick films have been extensively studied for different applications, such as sensors, actuators, transducers and caloric devices. In the majority of these applications, the electric field is applied to the working element in order to induce an electromechanical response, which is a complex phenomenon with several origins. Among them is the field-induced movement of domain walls, which is nowadays extensively studied using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), a technique derived from atomic force microscopy. PFM is based on the detection of the local converse piezoelectric effect in the sample; it is one of the most frequently applied methods for the characterization of the ferroelectric domain structure due to the simplicity of the sample preparation, its non-destructive nature and its relatively high imaging resolution. In this review, we focus on the PFM analysis of ferroelectric bulk ceramics and thick films. The core of the paper is divided into four sections: (i) introduction; (ii) the preparation of the samples prior to the PFM investigation; (iii) this is followed by reviews of the domain structures in polycrystalline bulks; and (iv) thick films.

Influence of Matrix and Surfactant on Piezoelectric and Dielectric Properties of Screen-Printed BaTiO3/PVDF Composites

“…), which show higher solubility with PVDF [ 50 ]. Carrying out AFM to provide a map of the ferroelectric domains and imaging of the dipole distribution in the material [ 51 ], in order to give a more solid explanation of the relationship between the effect of each surfactant and the value of the d 33 coefficient. Performing XRD to assess the variation in crystallinity of PVDF [ 52 ], due to the lattice distortion induced by the ceramic inclusions [ 53 ].…”

“…Carrying out AFM to provide a map of the ferroelectric domains and imaging of the dipole distribution in the material [ 51 ], in order to give a more solid explanation of the relationship between the effect of each surfactant and the value of the d 33 coefficient.…”

“Seeing Is Believing”—In-Depth Analysis by Co-Imaging of Periodically-Poled X-Cut Lithium Niobate Thin Films

“…Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) is a scanning probe technique based on atomic force microscopy (AFM). PFM is considered one of the standard techniques for imaging and analyzing FE materials and their domain structures [32][33][34]. PFM makes use of the fact that the orientation of FE domains directly determines the orientation of the piezoelectric tensor.…”

“…In principle, a lateral resolution down to the 1-nm range is possible. More in-depth reviews on PFM, its capabilities, and different operation modes can be found in various reviews [32][33][34].…”

Coexistence of local structural heterogeneities and long-range ferroelectricity in Pb-free (1−x)Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)Dey1, Ahad2, Gautam3 et al. 2021Phys. Rev. B19010View full textAdd to dashboardCite

“…In order to visualize effect of the local structural heterogeneities on ferroelectric domains (if any) we have also performed imaging by PRFM. PRFM is a technique based on the detection of the local converse piezoelectric effect, which is promising for imaging fine-scale domains [46][47][48]. .…”