Scanning probe charge reading of ferroelectric domains

A scanning probe charge-detection technique based on direct piezoelectric effect is demonstrated to read alternating bit polarizations in a ferroelectric media The bit signal is generated by spatially modulating charges interacting with a probe tip scanning in contact with the media. A periodicity of the bits is used with an appropriate scan speed to modulate the signal frequency. A signal-to-noise ratio of 10 dB has been achieved for a contact force of 100 nN. The modulation of the bit signal frequency into the 2 kHz data rate is achieved by coupling 0.4 mu m spacing between alternating polarizations with scanning speed of 1.6 mm/s.