Observation of photostrictive and piezoelectric effects on ferroelectric components using 3D profilometry
The OXIDE team is developing ferroelectric oxide cantilevers and studying their opto and electro-mechanical coupling by exposure to a UV @365 nm source. The cantilevers thus illuminated “twist”. Cantilever dimensions are of the order of 10 to 40 μm wide by 100 to 200 μm long. The z-displacement induced by the optical/electrical actuation at the tip is around 10 μm. However, at this stage of development, the cantilevers are not flat but very curved. This complicates optical observation, as the z-distances to be observed are greater.
White-light interferometry (WLI) is an ideal technique for observing these phenomena. The z-resolution does not depend on the magnification of the microscope objective, but only on the resolution of the piezoelectric translation of the instrument. In the case of these measurements, the step size varied from 10 to 30 nm.
