Swiss-Lithuanian Ferroelectrics: From controlled internal fields to energy harvesting / medical diagnostics / microelectronic applications

• Project promoter: Vilnius university
• Project partner: EPFL- Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne and Kaunas University of Technology
• Implementation period: 01.12.2012 – 31.03 2016;
• Budget: 2.488.955 LTL

Short project description

The aim of the Project: Ferroelectricity is the property of some polar materials to undergo polarization reorientation when subjected to external electric field. Ferroelectrics are ubiquitous materials in modern technology with substantial interest in further extending their functionality in components of medical-diagnostic equipment (using the piezoelectric effect), microelectronics and communications (ferroelectric switching and dielectric properties), and energy harvesting (piezo-, pyroelectric, and photovoltaic effects).

Real ferroelectric materials have internal electric fields due to finite size, charged defects, and inhomogeneities in the material. This is even more pronounced in thin films. The project aims to better understand internal fields in ferroelectrics and use them to obtain enhanced functionality.