Projekt:
Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), based on the contact AFM mode, detects the electrical bias-induced surface deformation of piezoelectric materials on the nanoscale. PFM has been substantially exploited to observe the domain morphology, domain nucleation and growth subjected to an external electrical field or temperature changes, and the polarization relaxation behaviour of ferroelectric materials. In our group, PFM is used to gain insight into the fundamental physical mechanisms behind large electromechanical responses in lead-free ferroelectric/relaxor piezoceramics. Moreover, to improve spatial and temporal resolution for detecting polar nanoregions and revealing the relaxation dynamics in relaxors, the torsional dual ac resonance tracking (TDART) and high-speed PFM were developed, respectively.