Identifying ferroelectric phase and domain structure using angle-resolved piezoresponse force microscopy

We used angle-resolved piezoresponse force microscopy (AR-PFM), vertical PFM (VPFM), and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to provide a systematic interpretation of domain patterns in polycrystalline, near-morphotropic lead zirconate titanate. This material was used to illustrate the power of AR-PFM methods in resolving complex domain patterns where multiple phases may be present. AR-PFM was carried out with a 30° rotation interval, and the resulting data were analysed to identify the orientation of the underlying axis of piezoelectricity. The additional information provided by AR-PFM was studied, comparing its capabilities to those of 3-dimensional PFM, consisting of one VPFM image and two orthogonal lateral PFM (LPFM) images. We show that, in certain conditions, using AR-PFM can identify the phases present at the sub-grain scale. This was confirmed using VPFM and EBSD data. Furthermore, the method can discriminate laminated domain patterns that appear similar in VPFM and can reliably expose domain patterns that may not be seen in LPFM data from a single orientation, or even in 3D PFM data.