Domain reversal and relaxation in LiNbO3 single crystals studied by piezoresponse force microscope.

The LiNbO3 crystal was polarized and characterized by the piezoresponse force mode of scanning probe microscope. By using the Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi [Izv. Akad. Nauk, USSR: Ser. Math. 3, 355 (1937); J. Chem. Phys. 8, 212 (1940); J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 63, 1031 (1994); 63, 1601 (1994)] theory to analyze the relaxation process after domain switching, it was found that (1) the percent of final switched domains after poling increased with the enhancing poling voltage, (2) the nucleation time was a constant to a certain sample, (3) the dimension of domain growth decreased with the enhancing poling voltage, and (4) the relaxation time had a maximum at a medial voltage. The corresponding mechanism for domain switching was discussed, which is hopefully useful for domain engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]