Ferroelectric - definition
Ferroelectric - definition
A Ferroelectric is a dielectric material that exhibits a spontaneous electrical polarisation that can be reversed under the influence of an external electric field. This polarisation is not the result of an instantaneous field, but of a permanent ordering of the electric dipoles in the crystal structure of the material, even at thermodynamic equilibrium. This phenomenon is analogous to the properties of ferromagnets with reference to magnetism and gives ferroelectric materials a number of unique functional characteristics.
Ferroelectricity occurs only in certain classes of asymmetric crystals and is strongly temperature dependent. There is a characteristic transition temperature called Curie temperature, above which the material loses its ferroelectric properties and becomes a paraelectric - i.e. dielectric with a linear polarisation-field dependence. Below this temperature, ferroelectric domains are formed, i.e. regions of homogeneous dipole orientation whose arrangement can be altered by an applied field.
Under the influence of an alternating electric field, the ferroelectric exhibits a characteristic loop hysteresis in the graph of polarisation versus field strength, which confirms the presence of the memory effect - the ability to permanently store the polarisation state. These properties make ferroelectrics useful in the manufacture of high dielectric constant capacitors, piezoelectric transducers, sensors, and also in non-volatile memories (FeRAM), where the logic state is represented by the direction of polarisation.
Typical ferroelectric materials are barium titanate (BaTiO₃), lead titanate (PbTiO₃) and some polymers, e.g. PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride). Thanks to their ability to control polarisation at the microscopic level, ferroelectrics are also the subject of intense research in nanotechnology, spintronics and advanced next-generation electronic circuits.
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