Piezoresponse imaging of lead zirconate titanate microfibers and numerical analysis of its electric field distribution

Piezoresponse imaging technique was transplanted from thin film to probe polarization domains and local properties in single electrospun lead zirconate titanate microfibers. The corresponding electric field distribution was numerically analyzed. The biased conic tip is found to produce a field that peaks on its apex and decreases rapidly toward the bottom metal electrode. A strong field exists only in a thin surface region and cannot pole the affected domain even with its magnitude of 108V∕m on the fiber surface.