Method and apparatus for detecting ferroelectric signal

A piezoelectric force microscopy apparatus, comprising:

• a waveform generator, configured to generate an input waveform signal, wherein the input waveform signal includes a plurality of read voltage steps with different voltage levels;
• an atomic force microscope probe, configured to scan over a surface of a ferroelectric film to measure a surface topography of the ferroelectric film;
• a detector, configured to detect a deflection of the atomic force microscope probe when the input waveform signal is applied to a pixel of the ferroelectric film to generate a deflection signal, wherein the deflection signal is used to generate spectrum data of the pixel;
• and
• a processor, configured to analyze the spectrum data of the pixel to determine whether the spectrum data of the pixel is a ferroelectric signal or a non-ferroelectric signal.

A method of detecting a ferroelectric signal, adapted to a piezoelectric force microscopy apparatus, comprising:

• generating an input waveform signal, wherein the input waveform signal includes a plurality of read voltage steps with different voltage levels;
• applying the input waveform signal to a ferroelectric film;
• detecting a deflection of an atomic force microscope probe in response to the input waveform signal is applied to a pixel of the ferroelectric film to generate a deflection signal;
• generating spectrum data of the pixel based on the deflection signal and the input waveform signal;
• and
• analyzing the spectrum data of the pixel by a machine learning algorithm to determine whether the spectrum data of the pixel is a ferroelectric signal or a non-ferroelectric signal.