Decay of domains created by local switching on non-polar cut of MgO doped LiNbO3 single crystals

Decay of isolated wedge-like domains with charged domain walls during local switching by a biased SPM tip on non-polar cut of lithium niobate doped by MgO was studied using piezoresponse force microscopy. It was found that domain imaging led to domains length reduction, whereas domain width did not change. Domain decay without scanning was also revealed. All the obtained effects were attributed to influence of injected charges, residual depolarization field, and AC voltage. Spatial distribution of electric field near SPM tip was simulated numerically. The obtained results provide new understanding of domain decay problem for nanodomain engineering.