Simultaneous elastic and electromechanical imaging by scanning probe microscopy: Theory and applications to ferroelectric and biological materials

J. Shin, B. J. Rodriguez, A. P. Baddorf, T. Thundat, E. Karapetian, M. Kachanov, A. Gruverman, S. V. Kalinin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

An approach for combined imaging of elastic and electromechanical properties of materials, referred to as piezoacoustic scanning probe microscopy (PA-SPM), is presented. Applicability of this technique for elastic and electromechanical imaging with nanoscale resolution in such dissimilar materials as ferroelectrics and biological tissues is demonstrated. The PA-SPM signal formation is analyzed based on the theory of nanoelectromechanics of piezoelectric indentation and signal sensitivity to materials properties and imaging conditions. It is shown that simultaneous measurements of local indentation stiffness and indentation piezocoefficient provide the most complete description of the local electroelastic properties for transversally isotropic materials, thus making piezoacoustic SPM a comprehensive imaging and analysis tool. The contrast formation mechanism in the low frequency regime is described in terms of tip-surface contact mechanics. Signal generation volumes for electromechanical and elastic signals are determined and relative sensitivity of piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM) for topographic cross-talk is established.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2102-2108
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Vacuum Science and Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures
Volume23
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2005

Funding

Research was performed as a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow and staff member at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 (S.V.K.). Support of ORNL SEED funding (A.P.B., E.K., and S.V.K.) is acknowledged. A.G. acknowledges financial support of the National Science Foundation (Grant No. DMR02-35632) and Bilateral US-Israel Science Foundation. Sam Snyder (PiezoKinetics) is gratefully acknowledged for the piezoactuator samples. Research is partially supported by NSF (M.K. and E.K. Grant No. CMS-0509936).

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