Electrochemical strain microscopy: Probing ionic and electrochemical phenomena in solids at the nanometer level
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Introduction Modern civilization is built upon the capability to control and direct minute electrical currents on the nanometer scale. Shaping matter through doping and lithography has imbued it with the capability to store and process information in the form of electric charges that form the foundation of modern microelectronics. However, the reverse direction, nanoscale control, and manipulation of matter though electrical currents is not yet fully explored and understood. While bias-induced processes underpin the functionality of batteries, fuel cells, and other electrochemical systems, only average behaviors are exploited. The price for the lack of the local knowledge is well recognized: 100s of operation cycles of batteries versus trillions for semiconductor memories;1,2 degradation and fatigue of ferroelectric memories3 and limited reproducibility in memristive devices; and polarization losses, short life times, and the need for expensive catalysts in fuel cells.4,5 Above all, this dearth of knowledge manifests in tremendous efforts invested into largely phenomenological attempts to improve these
technologies. Only by understanding the elementary mechanisms of solid-state electrochemical processes can we bridge the gap between phenomenological knowledge and advanced computational models, paving the way for knowledge-driven design and optimization of these systems. This goal, in turn, necessitates capturing local electrochemical information and comparing it to structural data available from advanced microscopy on the nanometer and atomic scales. This article discusses the challenges and recent progress associated with measuring and controlling ionic transport and electrochemical phenomena on the nanoscale and using scanning probe microscopy (SPM).
Scanning probe microscopies for probing electrochemical phenomena The nanoscale revolution was largely enabled by SPM techniques that allowed probing and manipulation of structure, electrical, magnetic, and mechanical functionalities on the nanometer and atomic levels.6 SPM sheds light on the nanoscale origins of electronic phenomena in superconductors,7
Stephen Jesse, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN; [email protected] Amit Kumar, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN; [email protected] Thomas M. Arruda, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN; [email protected] Yunseok Kim, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN; [email protected] Sergei V. Kalinin, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN; [email protected] Francesco Ciucci, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; [email protected] DOI: 10.1557/mrs.2012.144
© 2012 Materials Research Society
MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 37 • JULY 2012 • www.mrs.org/bulletin
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ELECTROCHEMICAL STRAIN MICROSCOPY: PROBING IONIC/ELECTROCHEMICAL PHENOMENA AT THE NM LEVEL
topological insulators,8 and metal-insulator systems;9 photohigh-sensitivity, selective det
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