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Ferroelectric Materials and Thin Films: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

A Special Issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944) belonging to the section "Electronic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 850

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY 10065, USA
Interests: nanotechnology and solid state physics; quantum materials; ferrimagnetic/ferroelectric films; energy storage materials; ultrafast laser spectroscopy; nonlinear optics; collective electronic; latt
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Co-Guest Editor
College of Arts and Sciences, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ 07079, USA
Interests: electronic thin film materials (dielectric, ferroelectric/piezoelectric, multiferroic, etc.) and high performance coatings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ferroelectric and dielectric materials continue to attract significant research interests due to their multifunctionality, scalability, and potential for integrated applications in microelectronic, electromechanical, and photonic systems. This Special Issue focuses on recent developments in thin film ferroelectrics and dielectric ceramics, emphasizing structure–property relationships, domain dynamics, and emerging device functionalities.

The Special Issue encompasses a wide range of materials, including linear dielectrics, paraelectrics, ferroelectrics, relaxor ferroelectrics, anti-ferroelectrics, and superparaelectrics. Particular attention is given to the roles of multipolar domain configurations and nanoscale domain interactions in controlling dielectric, ferroelectric, and electromechanical responses. These aspects are critical for optimizing polarization switching behavior, reducing hysteresis, and enhancing tunability.

Recent advances in film deposition techniques, such as pulsed laser deposition (PLD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), have enabled the precise control over crystallinity, orientation, and interface quality. Complementary developments in nanoscale characterization methods (e.g., PFM, STM, TEM, SHG) are providing new insights into local structures and domain evolution.

Contributions in this Special Issue highlight both fundamental studies and application-driven research, including integration with semiconductor platforms, the exploration of 2D ferroelectrics, and environmentally benign lead-free compositions. Together, these works reflect the ongoing progress and future directions in ferroelectric thin film science and technology.

Prof. Dr. Yuhang Ren
Guest Editor

Dr. Jun Ouyang
Co-Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • ferroelectric thin films
  • dielectric materials
  • 2D ferroelectrics
  • domain engineering
  • structural evolution
  • piezoelectrics
  • polymorphic phase boundaries

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 6483 KB  
Article
Large Transverse Piezoelectricity in Highly (001)-Oriented PZT Thick Films on Titanium Substrates
by Zefeng Guo, Jun Ouyang, Shijing Chen, Zhenyan Liang and Hongbo Cheng
Materials 2026, 19(11), 2396; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19112396 - 4 Jun 2026
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Abstract
Integration of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films on metallic substrates is important for flexible piezoelectric devices, but achieving highly textured crystallinity without detrimental interfacial diffusion or oxidation remains challenging. In this work, PZT thick films (~1.3 μm) were deposited on titanium substrates using [...] Read more.
Integration of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films on metallic substrates is important for flexible piezoelectric devices, but achieving highly textured crystallinity without detrimental interfacial diffusion or oxidation remains challenging. In this work, PZT thick films (~1.3 μm) were deposited on titanium substrates using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering at 400 °C followed by rapid thermal processing at 640 °C for 2.5 min. A conductive LaNiO3 buffer layer was introduced to promote the nucleation of the perovskite phase and suppress interfacial degradation. The resulting PZT films on the LNO/Pt/Ti substrates exhibit a strong (001) preferred orientation and a dense microstructure. The films show a large remnant polarization Pr of ~61 μC cm−2 and a low coercive field Ec of ~56 kV cm−1 at 60 V, together with a dielectric constant εr of ~1350–1612 and a dielectric loss tanδ ≤ 0.06 in the frequency range of 1 kHz to 1 MHz. Patterned Pt/PZT/LNO/Pt/Ti cantilevers yield a transverse piezoelectric coefficient e31,f of ~−6.7 C/m2, significantly outperforming reported piezoelectric films deposited on Ti. These results demonstrate that controlled nucleation and rapid thermal crystallization enable highly textured PZT films on reactive metallic substrates, providing a viable route for flexible piezoelectric MEMS devices. Full article
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