Ferroelectric Materials and Thin Films: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Electronic Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2026 | Viewed by 19
Special Issue Editors
Interests: dielectrics and ferroelectrics; dielectric capacitors; defects; photovoltaic films; energy storage materials; ultrafast laser spectroscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
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
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- ferroelectric thin films
- dielectric materials
- 2D ferroelectrics
- domain engineering
- structural evolution
- piezoelectrics
- polymorphic phase boundaries
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