Ferroelectric domain switching in tri-glycine sulphate and barium-titanate bulk single crystals by scanning force microscopy

Direct writing of ferroelectric domains into triglycine sulphate and barium-titanate single crystals by scanning force microscopy is demonstrated. Oppositely polarized domains were created by choosing an adequate polarity for the d.c. voltage applied to the conductive tip: a positive voltage bias applied to the tip results in the polarization pointing into the crystal, and vice versa. The direct writing of lines and dots measuring less than 500 nm in width is demonstrated. Any structure written by this method is imaged with the same tip, now biased with an a.c. voltage. Image contrast results from both Maxwell stress and the piezoelectric response of the ferroelectric sample.