Abstract

Electrostatic force microscopy is a powerful new technique to obtain high- resolution charge distributions on photorefractive materials. This is demonstrated with an image of the charge distribution and the topography of a BaTi0₃ crystal. A simultaneous measurement of the light grating and of the corresponding charge distribution on a Bi₁₂SiO₂₀ crystal is presented. Finally it is shown that force microscopy can also provide information on the distribution of free charge carriers. The new possibilities of force microscopy to the investigation of photorefractivity are discussed.

© 1999 Optical Society of America