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

Authors

• Brian J. Rodriguez, Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge,Tennessee 37831, USA
• Stephen Jesse, Oak Ridge National LaboratoryFollow
• Jihee Kim, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
• Stephen Ducharme, University of NebraskaFollow
• Sergei V. Kalinin, Oak Ridge National LaboratoryFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

6-1-2008

Comments

Published in APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 92, 232903 2008. Copyright © 2008 American Institute of Physics. Used by permission.

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.