Abstract
Time-resolved piezoresponse force spectroscopy (TR-PFS) and spectroscopic imaging are developed to probe the spatial variability of relaxation behavior in nanoscale ferroelectric materials and structures. TR-PFS was applied to study polarization dynamics in polyvinylidine fluoride and trifluoroethylene nanomesas. We demonstrate that polarization relaxation in ferroelectric polymers is slow even on the ∼10 nm length scale of piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) signal generation. Furthermore, the relaxation times are found to be nonuniform within the nanomesa, indicative of a complex internal structure. The applicability of TR-PFM for studies of polarization dynamics in ferroelectric polymers and relaxors is discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 232903 |
| Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
| Volume | 92 |
| Issue number | 23 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2008 |
Funding
The research was supported in part by the Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC. Work at the University of Nebraska was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Nebraska Research Initiative. One of the authors (B.J.R.) acknowledges the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.