Nanoscale Investigation of Optical and Electrical Properties by Dynamic-Mode Atomic Force Microscopy Using a Piezoelectric Cantilever

We demonstrated a novel application of a microfabricated force-sensing cantilever with a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film as an integrated deflection sensor for a dynamic-mode atomic force microscope (AFM) combined with a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM). This experimental setup was also applied to a Kelvin-probe force microscope (KFM) for the investigation of local electrical properties. A frequency modulation (FM) detection method was used for enhancing the detection sensitivity of electrostatic forces between a probe tip and a sample. Local optical properties of a PbTiO 3 single crystal were investigated using the conductive PZT cantilever as an AFM/SNOM probe. Furthermore, studies on local optical and electrical properties of ferroelectric copolymer films were also presented.