Nanoscale observation of the distribution of the polarization orientation of ferroelectric domains in lithium niobate thin films

In this paper, an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) in the so-called piezoresponse mode is used to image the ferroelectric domains in radio frequency sputtered lithium niobate (LiNbO3) thin films. It is shown that ferroelectric domains are clearly detectable and most of the time confined in the grains. The vertical and the lateral motion of the vibration of the tip in response to the applied alternating voltage is recorded in order to reconstruct a cartography of the orientation of the ferroelectric domains, allowing us to observe the distribution of the orientation of the polarization in the polycrystalline film and providing additional information about the direction of the polarization, although it is not a fully 3D cartography. From Piezoresponse Force Microscopy images, it is clear that the dispersion of the orientation of the polarization vector in the studied LiNbO3 sample is very high. It is shown that the AFM quasi-3D mapping of the distribution of orientation in the material provides a valuable information and may help understanding the fundamental phenomena which govern the growth of the material.