Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) is an indispensable tool in the investigation of local electromechanical responses and polarization switching. The acquired data provide spatial information on the local disparity of polarization switching and electromechanical responses, making this technique advantageous over macroscopic approaches. Despite its widespread application in ferroelectrics, it has rarely been used to investigate the ferrielectric (FiE) behaviors in antiferroelectric (AFE) materials. Herein, the PFM was utilized to study the local electromechanical behavior and distribution of FiE, and the AFE phases of PbZrO₃ thin-film were studied, where only the FiE behavior is observable using a macroscopic approach. The FiE region resembles a ferroelectric material at low voltages but exhibits a unique on-field amplitude response at high voltages. In contrast, the AFE region only yields an observable response at high voltages. Phase-field simulations reveal the coexistence of AFE and FiE states as well as the phase-transition processes that underpin our experimental observations. Our work illustrates the usefulness of PFM as an analytical tool to characterize AFE/FiE materials and their phase-coexistence behavior, thereby providing insights to guide property modification and potential applications.

压电响应力显微镜 (PFM) 是研究局部机电响应和极化切换不可或缺的工具。获得的数据提供了有关极化切换和机电响应的局部差异的空间信息，使该技术优于宏观方法。尽管它在铁电体中得到广泛应用，但很少用于研究反铁电体 (AFE) 材料中的铁电体 (FiE) 行为。在此，PFM 用于研究 FiE 的局部机电行为和分布，以及 PbZrO _{3的 AFE 相}研究了薄膜，其中使用宏观方法只能观察到 FiE 行为。FiE 区域在低压下类似于铁电材料，但在高压下表现出独特的场振幅响应。相比之下，AFE 区域仅在高压下产生可观察到的响应。相场模拟揭示了 AFE 和 FiE 状态的共存以及支持我们实验观察的相变过程。我们的工作说明了 PFM 作为分析工具来表征 AFE/FiE 材料及其相共存行为的有用性，从而为指导性能修改和潜在应用提供见解。