History Of: Ferroelectrics

Reprinted from the Ceramics and Civilization, Volume 111.
Huh-Technology Ceramics-Past, Present, and Future

Copyright 1987 by The American Ceramic Society. Inc.
History of Ferroelectrics
L.E.CROSS AND R. E.NEWNHAM

The Pennsylvania State University
Materials Research Laboratory
University Park, PA 16802
Ferroelectric ceramics are widely used as capacitors, transducers,and thermistors,

accounting for about one-half the sales of electroceramic components. The histori-
cal roots leading to the discovery of ferroelectricity can be traced back to the last
century and the work of the famous crystal physicists Weiss, Pasteur, Pockels,
Hooke, Groth, Voigt, and the brothers Curie. Beginning with the pioneering workon
Rochelle salt and potassium dihydrogen phosphate, the study of ferroelectrics ac-
celerated rapidly during World War II with the discovery of barium titanate. Then
came a periodof rapid proliferation with more than 100 new ferroelectrics identified
in the next decade, including lead zirconate titanate, the most widely used piezoe-
lectric transducer. In the following decade, the concepts of soft modes and order pa-
rameters led to the age of “high science”in the sixties. Neutron experiments authen-
ticated the soft-mode concept and led to the discovery of a number of peculiar
improper ferroelectrics such as gadolinium molybdate. In the seventies came the
age of diversification in which the electrooptic properties, defect chemistry, and elec-
tronic conduction phenomenain ferroelectric ceramicswere explored.In the present
decade weare witnessing the beginnings of electroceramic integration: Ferroelectric
transducers and capacitors are being integrated into multilayer packages along with
ceramic substrates, metallic interconnect circuitry, and ceramic resistors. Further in-
tegration and miniaturization will take place in the years ahead as electroceramic
technology follows the pathways of the semiconductor industry.
Ferroelectricity, involving as it does the complex interplay of dielectric

andelasticbehavior inhighly nonlinear,anisotropic,polarizable,de-
formable crystals,is perhaps even now almost as much an art as a science.
Like both these types of human endeavor, it has passed through a num-
ber of well-marked “phases” when specificmaterials,techniques,or
models for study were particularly in vogue. Following the art historian,
one might try to identify and name these major periods of activity and
our own attempt along these lines is summarized in Table I.
Certainly oneof the major “turning points” in ferroelectricity camein
the very early 1940s with discovery of the unusual dielectric properties of
a number of simple mixed oxides which crystallize with the perovskite
structure. In the “preperovskite era,” ferroelectricity was something of a
scientific curiosity, unique to two rather friable water-soluble crystal fami-
lies with complex crystal structures. After the 1940 discoveries, the ro-
bust,stableceramicoxides with very simple structuresandobviously
exploitableproperties led tosignificantlygreaterinvolvement with the
topic, a steadily broadening base of practical applications, and rapidly
deepening fundamental understanding.
To further subdivide about this early period, one may note that, for
a long time, from the late1890s to 1935, a single interesting crystal was the
289
Table I. ImportantEvents in Ferroelectricity
1920-1930 RochelleSaltperiod:discovery of ferroelectricity
1930-1940 KDP age: Thermodynamic and atomistic models of
ferroelectricity
1940-1950 Early barium titanate era: High-K capacitors developed
1950-1960 Period of proliferation: Many new ferroelectrics
discovered
1960-1970 Age of high science: Soft modes and order parameters
1970-1980 Age of diversification: Ferroics, electrooptics,
thermistors
1980-1990 Age of integration: Packages, composites, and integrated
optics
199CL2000 Age of miniaturizaion: Size effects, manipulatedmodes
and diDoles
sole object for study. It seems perhaps reasonable to term this the early
Rochelle Salt period. In 1935 the agonies of working with this unstable
complex crystal were partially relieved by the discovery of ferroelectrici-
ty in thepotassiumdihydrogenphosphatefamily.These were easier,
more symmetric crystals to work with, but with ferroelectricity confined
to temperatures below -150°C. We have termed the decade from 1930 to
1940 the intermediate KDP period.
After 1940, in thepostperovskiteera, it appearsthatthedevelop-
ments fall rather neatly into four decade-long periods. The barium titan-
ate period, 1940 to 1950, occurred when the major experimental features
of this fascinating crystal were first studied, and the capacitor and trans-
ducer applications for ceramic BaTi03 were firmly established. The years
1950 to 1960 were a period of rapid proliferation in the number of known
ferroelectrics. Over this period, the number of known ferroelectrics grew
from Rochelle Salt, KDP, and three or four ferroelectric perovskites in
1950 to twenty-five firmly established familiesof ferroelectrics, more than
twentydefiniteperovskitecompounds,andinnumerable solid solutions
in the early 1960s.
Perhaps the most significant theoretical development in ferroelectric-
ity occurred in 1960 with the formulation of theelegantsoft-modede-
scription of the ferroelectric transition made almost simultaneously and
independently by CochranandAnderson.Thisdynamicalphenomen-
ological description provided the vital link whereby the static pbenome-
nologies of Mueller and Devonshire could be interconnected with tracta-
ble atomisticdescriptionsthroughtheelementaryexcitations of the
crystal lattice.
Over the 1960 to 1970 period the full weight of the information from
inelasticneutron,Raman,Brillouin,and Rayleigh scattering,together
with NMR, NQR, and EPR wherever appropriate,was brought to bear in
verifyingandextendingthesoft-modedescription. Truly anera of
“high”scientificendeavorduring which ferroelectrics evolved in the
290
solid state physics community from crystallographers’ toys to the pivotal
prototypes for the description of displacive solid-solid phase transitions.
Subsequentproblemsassociated with centralpeaks in the Raman
and neutron scattering data and the escalating interestin critical phenom-
ena and scaling indices, tempts one flippantly to term the era of the 70s
that of “hardening of the modes.” This would, however, be a gross in-
justice to what continues to be a primary tool for studying phase transi-
tions. Rather, we believe that the decade of the 70s may turn out to be a
key period of diversification in which the thinking whichevolvedwith
considerable refinement for simple proper ferroelectrics was applied to
other mimetically twinned ferroic crystals, and the concept of dynamical
modeinstabilities, which have proved so fruitful in understanding the
onset of the static displacementsystems in ferroelectricdomainstruc-
tures, wereapplied toan ever-widening spectrum of solid statephase
transitions.
During the ageof diversification, a number of interesting practical de-
velopments took place as well. Investigations of doped BaTi03 led to the
discovery of a remarkable change in resistance at the Curie point. PTCR
thermistors are now used widely as self-regulating heating devices.
At present we are in the midstof the age of integration, in which
many electroceramic components are being incorporated into thick-film
circuits, thin-film circuits, or multilayer packages. Capacitors, transduc-
ers, and electrooptic switches made from ferroelectric ceramics and crys-
tals are among these circuit elements. Looking ahead, it seems obvious
that further miniaturization will take place. Many of the techniques devel-
oped for semiconductor crystals will be applied to ferroelectrics.
Clearly, in a short paper of this type it is not at all possible to do jus-
tice to the many scientists and engineers who contributedto the develop-
ment of ferroelectrics. Only major highlights can be touched on and, in
drawing out these highlights, personal bias is hard to avoid. However,
for the basic science, the published record is generally available and the
credit already properly apportioned.
The second goal in this presentation is to predict the future of ferro-
electric ceramics, and to unravel an evolving technology of this type; an
even more difficult task. But, as Lincoln once said, “The world will little
note nor long remember what we said here.”
The Early Rochelle Salt Period

Some of the more important people and eventsin this earliest period,
which formed the basis for all later ferroelectric activities, are summa-
rized in Table 11. The object of this period of study was first separated in
1655 by Elie Seignette, an apothecaryin the town of La Rochelle, France.
Sodium potassium tartrate tetrahydrate (Rochelle Salt) was used for over
200 years for its mild purgative medicinal properties. Late in the nine-
teenth century its physicalpropertiesbegantoexciteinterest.In 1824
Brewster’hadobserved the phenomenon of pyroelectricity in various
crystals, among which was Rochelle Salt, but perhaps the first systemat-
ic studies were those of the brothers Pierre and Paul-Jacques Curie2 in
1880. This classic work established unequivocally the existence of the pi-
ezoelectric effect and correctly identified Rochelle Salt and a number of
other crystals as being piezoelectric.
29 1

History Of: Ferroelectrics

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

History Of: Ferroelectrics

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

History Of: Ferroelectrics

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reprinted from the Ceramics and Civilization, Volume 111.

Huh-Technology Ceramics-Past, Present, and Future

L.E.CROSS AND R. E.NEWNHAM

Ferroelectric ceramics are widely used as capacitors, transducers,and thermistors,

Ferroelectricity, involving as it does the complex interplay of dielectric

The Early Rochelle Salt Period

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.