Investigation of Twin-Wall Structure at the Nanometer Scale Using Atomic Force Microscopy

The structure of twin-walls and their interaction with defects has important implications for the behavior of a variety of materials including ferroelectric, ferroelastic, and co-elastic crystals. One unique characteristic of such crystals is that their physical properties as well as their macroscopic response to electrical, mechanical, and optical loads are strongly related to their microstructural twin patterns. These, in turn, are governed by the atomistic and mesoscale structure of twin-walls and their interaction with other crystal defects.