On the imaging mechanism of ferroelectric domains in scanning force microscopy

Scanning force microscopy (SFM) studies of the domain structure in ferroelectric thin films on a nonmetal substrate allowed direct assessment of the electrostatic mechanism contribution to the domain contrast in the SFM contact mode. It has been shown that the polarization charges of the ferroelectric film are effectively compensated. This result suggests secondary effect of the electrostatic tip-sample interaction on domain imaging mechanism in ferroelectric thin films in contact SFM compared to the major contribution of the piezoelectric effect.