Measuring dielectric properties at the nanoscale using Electrostatic Force Microscopy

Several electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) - based methods have been recently developed to study the nanoscale dielectric properties of thin insulating layers. Some methods allow measuring quantitatively the static dielectric permittivity whereas some others provide qualitative information about the temperature-frequency dependence of dielectric properties. In this chapter, all these methods are described and illustrated by experiments on pure and nanostructured polymer films. A section is dedicated to EFM probe - sample models and especially to the Equivalent Charge Method (ECM)