Nanoscale Investigation of the Ferroelectric Properties of Sol-Gel ( PbZr x Ti 1− x ) O 3 Films

In this paper, nanoscale ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties (e.g. cartography of the piezoelectric coefficient after poling and polarisation direction) of sol-gel PZT thin films are studied using a modified Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Polarisation patterns are created, and then imaged after more than one year. Hysteresis loops are recorded and it is shown that their shape and related parameters (remanent polarisation and coercitive field) are strongly dependant on the experimental conditions.