Electrical creep induced ferroelectric domain wall motion in BaTiO_3 single crystal

摘要

Observations of 180° domain patterns were made on a bulk BaTiO_3 single crystal using atomic force microscopy and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). Surface electrodes were then used to apply a weak in-plane electric field, and in-situ measurements of electrical creep induced domain structure evolution were made. The out-of-plane electric field component presented by electrodes was insufficient to cause significant switching alone. However, in the presence of the scanning PFM tip, a gradual change in 180° domain configuration was observed. This suggests that by combining in-plane fields with an out-of plane bias, domain configurations can be manipulated at the surface of bulk crystals using low voltages.