Probing local bias-induced transitions using photothermal excitation contact resonance atomic force microscopy and voltage spectroscopy

Qian Li, Stephen Jesse, Alexander Tselev, Liam Collins, Pu Yu, Ivan Kravchenko, Sergei V. Kalinin, Nina Balke

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nanomechanical properties are closely related to the states of matter, including chemical composition, crystal structure, mesoscopic domain configuration, etc. Investigation of these properties at the nanoscale requires not only static imaging methods, e.g., contact resonance atomic force microscopy (CR-AFM), but also spectroscopic methods capable of revealing their dependence on various external stimuli. Here we demonstrate the voltage spectroscopy of CR-AFM, which was realized by combining photothermal excitation (as opposed to the conventional piezoacoustic excitation method) with the band excitation technique. We applied this spectroscopy to explore local bias-induced phenomena ranging from purely physical to surface electromechanical and electrochemical processes. Our measurements show that the changes in the surface properties associated with these bias-induced transitions can be accurately assessed in a fast and dynamic manner, using resonance frequency as a signature. With many of the advantages offered by photothermal excitation, contact resonance voltage spectroscopy not only is expected to find applications in a broader field of nanoscience but also will provide a basis for future development of other nanoscale elastic spectroscopies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1848-1857
Number of pages10
JournalACS Nano
Volume9
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 24 2015

Keywords

  • Young's modulus
  • elastic spectroscopy
  • electrochemical reaction
  • ferroelectric
  • scanning probe microscopy

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