Measurement of stress distribution at the nanoscale: Towards stress nanotomography

We develop an experimental method for the in-situ stress measurement at the nanoscale. It provides a stress distribution in a contact zone between a probe and a pyroelectric crystal, based on the piezoelectric effect. We elaborate a theory of the method and demonstrate that the continuum theory of elasticity and piezoelectricity remains valid at the nanoscale. We show that the stress in the bulk of the contacting bodies may be also reconstructed, thus paving a way to 3D stress nanotomography.