Patent ID: 8130002

Claim:
A device for detecting the direction of polarization of a ferroelectric material, the device comprising at least one probe disposed in contact with or near a surface of a ferroelectric and an electric field applying means for providing an electric field signal to the ferroelectric and applies an alternating electric field to a capacitor component formed in the ferroelectric directly below the probe, wherein the device detects a direction of polarization of the ferroelectric directly below the probe based on a capacitance change of the capacitor component as the alternating electric field is applied to the capacitor component, the device further comprising: a demodulation means for generating a detection signal having a signal level corresponding to the capacitance change of the ferroelectric as the alternating electric field is applied from a measurement signal provided through the probe; a synchronous detection means for performing synchronous detection of the detection signal based on a synchronous signal and generates a polarization direction detection signal corresponding to the polarization direction of the ferroelectric; and a pseudo-noise signal generation means for generating a pseudo-noise signal including a frequency component identical to a frequency of the electric field signal, wherein the demodulation means includes a noise component removal means for removing a noise component included in the measurement signal through signal arithmetic processing with the pseudo-noise signal.