  Interest to ferroelectric materials has been increased significantly in last
decades due to development of new generation of nonlinear optical and data
storage devices. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) can be used both for study of
domain structures with nanoscale spatial resolution and for writing the
isolated nanodomains by local application of the electric field. Tip-induced
switching in the ambient still needs experimental investigations and
theoretical explorations. Here we studied influence of the value of relative
humidity in the SPM chamber on the process of tip-induced polarization
switching. This phenomenon was attributed to existing of the water meniscus
between tip and the sample surface in humid atmosphere. Presented results are
important for further complex investigations of the ferroelectric materials and
their applications.
