ABSTRACT

Ferroelectrics are materials that possess a macroscopic spontaneous polarization that can be reoriented through the application of an external electric field (Schlom et al. 2007). Polarization in ferroelectric materials can exist in the absence of an electric field under certain ranges of temperature and pressure. This is the biggest difference between ferroelectric materials and dielectric materials. In dielectric materials, polarization is also generated by applying an electric field. However, the polarization of dielectric materials disappears when the electric field is not applied. Ferroelectric materials have crystal structures that lack inversion symmetry. This broken inversion symmetry is a source of permanent polarization that is observed in ferroelectrics.