Visualization of Charge Migration in Conductive Polymers via Time-Resolved Electrostatic Force Microscopy.

Charge dynamics play an important role in numerous natural phenomena and artificial devices, and tracking charge migration and recombination is crucial for understanding the mechanism and function of systems involving charge transfer. Tip-synchronized pump-probe electrostatic force microscopy simultaneously permits highly sensitive detection, microsecond time resolution, and nanoscale spatial resolution, where the spatial distribution in static measurement (usual EFM) reflects differences in the carrier density and the time evolution reveals the surface carrier mobility. By using this method, carrier injection and ejection in sulfonated polyaniline (SPAN) thin films were visualized. Comparison of tr-EFM results of SPAN thin films with different doping levels revealed the individual differences in carrier density and mobility.