Basics and applications of piezoresponse force microscopy

In this tutorial, I will present the basic principle of single-frequency vertical piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) [1], the very first version of PFM developed 30 years ago that used atomic force microscopy (AFM) and lock-in amplifier. I will discuss the challenges and artifacts involved in PFM, and introduce various advanced modes including multi-frequency PFM, and vector PFM or angle-resolved PFM. Some related modes like Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM), and conductive AFM (C-AFM) will be presented to show how PFM and other modes can collaborate to give the full picture of what is going on when we apply voltage pulses through the tip to the ferroelectric samples. Some of the PFM-inspired applications will be introduced as well [2].

References

1. S. Hong et al., J. Appl. Phys. 129, 051101 (2021)

2. Y. Cho and S. Hong, MRS Bulletin 43, 365 - 370 (2018)