Imaging mechanism of piezoresponse force microscopy in capacitor structures

Authors

Sergei V. Kalinin, Materials Science and Technology Division and the Center for Nanophase Materials Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TennesseeFollow
Brian J. Rodriguez, Materials Science and Technology Division and the Center for Nanophase Materials Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USAFollow
Seung-Hyun Kim, INOSTEK, Inc., Gyeonggi 426-901, Republic of Korea
Suk-kyoung Hong, Hynix Semiconductor, Inc., San 136-1, Ami-ri, Bubal-eub, Icheon-si, Kyoungki-do 467-701, Republic of Korea
Alexei Gruverman, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Eugene E. Eliseev, Institute for Problems of Materials Science, National Academy of Science of Ukraine

Date of this Version

April 2008

Comments

Published in Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 152906 2008. Copyright © 2008 American Institute of Physics. Used by permission.

Abstract

The image formation mechanism in piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) of capacitor structures is analyzed. We demonstrate that the spatial resolution is a bilinear function of film and top electrode thicknesses and derive the corresponding analytical expressions. For many perovskites, the opposite contributions of d₃₁ and d₃₃ components can result in anomalous domain wall profiles. This analysis establishes the applicability limits of PFM for polarization dynamics studies in capacitors and applies them to other structural probes, including focused x-ray studies of capacitor structures.