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Stephen Ducharme Publications
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Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
2004
Abstract
Pyroelectric Scanning Microscopy (PSM) has been developed to enable mapping of surface polarization in ferroelectric thin films, in particular the copolymer polyvinylidene fluoride trifluororethylene, or P(VDF-TrFE). The Chynoweth method for dynamically measuring pyroelectric current is employed in conjunction with a micropositioning system to construct two-dimensional images of the film polarization. These images have revealed enhancement of the polarization near the edges of the film below the average coercive field, with the center's polarization increasing thereafter to meet the edge value at saturation.