Local probing of relaxation time distributions in ferroelectric polymer nanomesas: Time-resolved piezoresponse force spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2008 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2942390· OSTI ID:1115351

Rodriguez, Brian ^[1]; Jesse, Stephen ^[2]; Kim, J. ^[3]; Ducharme, S. ^[3]; Kalinin, Sergei ^[4]

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1. University College, Dublin
2. ORNL
3. University of Nebraska, Lincoln
4. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

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.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1115351
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 92, Issue 23; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English