Piezoelectric force microscopy of crystalline oxide-semiconductor heterostructures

Thin films of epitaxial SrTiO3 grown on silicon exhibit compressive in-plane strain that may stabilize ferroelectricity in this normally non-ferroelectric material. We investigate this possibility by using an ultra-high vacuum atomic force microscope to measure the local force response of coherently strained SrTiO3 films on silicon to an applied ac electric field. The observed cantilever response is different in regions that were previously written with positive and negative voltages, but the frequency dependence of this response indicates that the dominant forces are related to electrostatic charging rather than ferroelectricity. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4750243]