Intermittent contact scanning nonlinear dielectric microscopy.

Intermittent contact scanning nonlinear dielectric microscopy (IC-SNDM) was developed as a novel technique for surface topography measurements and observation of domain structures. Domain structures on ferroelectric single crystals were observed with nanoscale resolution using IC-SNDM. The reproducibility of measurements was improved in comparison to a conventional SNDM operated under contact mode, because the tip and/or sample damage are reduced when using intermittent contact mode. The minimum loading force of the probe to provide basic performance was experimentally determined for IC-SNDM.