SCANNING FORCE MICROSCOPY STUDIES OF DOMAIN-STRUCTURE IN BATIO3 SINGLE-CRYSTALS

Domain structure of barium titanate single crystals has been studied b y scanning force microscopy (SFM). In the SFM topography mode, a-c-dom ain contrast was observed due to surface deformation as a result of la ttice distortion on the domain wall separating a- and c-domains. The v ariety of configurations in which a- and c-domains are arranged result s in complex topography of the crystal surface. Antiparallel c-domains of submicron size were produced by applying a voltage bias to the SFM tip and subsequently imaged in the SFM piezoresponse mode with a reso lution of less than 20 nm.