Role of measurement voltage on hysteresis loop shape in Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

Abstract

The dependence of field-on and field-off hysteresis loop shape in Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) on driving voltage, V-ac, is explored. A nontrivial dependence of hysteresis loop parameters on measurement conditions is observed. The strategies to distinguish between paraelectric and ferroelectric states with small coercive bias and separate reversible hysteretic and non-hysteretic behaviors are suggested. Generally, measurement of loop evolution with V-ac is a necessary step to establish the veracity of PFM hysteresis measurements. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4764939]