Visualizing Anisotropic Charge Transport in CrSBr using Bias-Dependent Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy
Abstract
Anisotropic semiconductors offer unique opportunities for next-generation electronics due to their direction-dependent transport. However, conventional electrical measurements provide only spatially averaged characteristics. Here, we employ bias-dependent Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) to directly visualize the response of CrSBr under different electrical bias configurations. Spatially resolved KPFM maps reveal highly distinct, crystallographic-direction-dependent potential profiles. To elucidate this behavior, we employ anisotropic transport simulations that capture the charge transport and electric-field distributions in CrSBr. The close agreement between experiment and simulation provides a unified picture of anisotropic charge transport and bias-induced potential redistribution. Our experiments further reveal a boundary-associated redistribution of the transport field when bias is applied along the a-axis, suggesting a possible role of crystal boundaries in charge transport along the low-conductivity direction. This work establishes bias-dependent KPFM as a powerful platform for uncovering localized transport phenomena in low-symmetry quantum materials.
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BibTeX
@misc{sahu2026visualizing,
title = {{Visualizing Anisotropic Charge Transport in CrSBr using Bias-Dependent Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy}},
author = {Satyam Sahu and Arijit Kayal and Bing Wu and Aljoscha Söll and Zdeněk Sofer and Matěj Velický and Otakar Frank},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.01217},
eprint = {2611.01217},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.01217},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Visualizing Anisotropic Charge Transport in CrSBr using Bias-Dependent Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy
AU - Satyam Sahu
AU - Arijit Kayal
AU - Bing Wu
AU - Aljoscha Söll
AU - Zdeněk Sofer
AU - Matěj Velický
AU - Otakar Frank
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.01217
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.01217
AB - Anisotropic semiconductors offer unique opportunities for next-generation electronics due to their direction-dependent transport. However, conventional electrical measurements provide only spatially averaged characteristics. Here, we employ bias-dependent Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) to directly visualize the response of CrSBr under different electrical bias configurations. Spatially resolved KPFM maps reveal highly distinct, crystallographic-direction-dependent potential profiles. To elucidate this behavior, we employ anisotropic transport simulations that capture the charge transport and electric-field distributions in CrSBr. The close agreement between experiment and simulation provides a unified picture of anisotropic charge transport and bias-induced potential redistribution. Our experiments further reveal a boundary-associated redistribution of the transport field when bias is applied along the a-axis, suggesting a possible role of crystal boundaries in charge transport along the low-conductivity direction. This work establishes bias-dependent KPFM as a powerful platform for uncovering localized transport phenomena in low-symmetry quantum materials.
ER -