2025/03/26 by G. Catalan, Gustau Catalán, Catalan, G. +11 · 1 voice
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Acoustic Wave Resonator Technologies #FOS: Physical sciences #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2503.20423
openalex publication_date 2025/03/26 · arxiv published 2025/03/26 · arxiv updated 2025/03/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Antiferroelectrics attract broad attention due to their unusual physical characteristics, chief among which is the double-hysteresis loop that separates their antipolar ground state from the voltage-induced polar phase, which is promising for applications in energy storage and electrocaloric cooling. However, their defining features (antipolar ground state and double-hysteresis loops) are increasingly challenged: materials with non-collinear and/or hybrid polar-antipolar order have been discovered, and double-hysteresis has been realized in materials without a conventional antipolar ground state. These developments add to the intensifying interest in fundamental and practical aspects of antiferroelectrics, and call for a fresh look at antiferroelectricity. In this Perspective, we provide an updated and all-encompassing definition of antiferroelectricity, discuss material systems with new antipolar orders and/or engineered double hysteresis, and reflect on emergent properties and theoretical approaches. This work casts a bird's eye view on the rapidly evolving trends that are shaping up the research on ferroics with antipolar order.