Investigation of the current path of Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 thin films using an atomic force microscope with simultaneous current measurement

The current path of Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 thin films was investigated using an atomic farce microscope with simultaneous observations of the surface topography and current measurements using a conductive cantilever. From the current images, it was found that there were some spats where the current flowed relatively easily. By comparing this with the topographic images, these spots were found to be distributed along the grain boundaries-the current barely flowed through the flat surface within the bulk grains. Moreover, the position of these distributed spots did not change even if the value and polarity of the applied voltages were changed. These experimental results indicated that the current flowed through the grain boundaries and that the grain boundary was the current path. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.