Piezoelectric Scanners: Hysteresis and Aging
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Scanning Probe Microscope Training Notebook
Rev. F
8.2 Aging
The sensitivity of piezoelectric materials decreases exponentially with operation time. This causes
most of the change in the sensitivity to occur at the beginning of a scanner's life, as shown in the
graph to the left. Scanners are run approximately 48 hours before they are shipped from the factory
to get the scanner past the point where the sensitivity changes dramatically over short periods of
time. As the scanner ages, the sensitivity will change less with time, and will eventually get to the
point where it very seldom needs recalibrating.
Time
Sensitivity