An Overview of Ferroic Materials

In the last decades, there has been an extensive amount of research on ferroic materials, which show spontaneous polarization, magnetization, or strain. The discovery of Rochelle salt as the first ferroelectric material in the early 20th century marked the beginning of this field. Since then, the discovery of many new ferroic materials has led to the development of a range of technological applications, including piezoelectric actuators, sensors, and memory devices. This chapter provides an overview of the past and present of ferroic materials research, highlighting key discoveries and technological applications, as well as current research trends and challenges. Properties of ferroic materials, including ferromagnetic, ferroelectric, and ferroelastic materials, are also reviewed in this chapter, which can be tuned by varying their composition, structure, and processing conditions. Moreover, the scaling of these properties can be controlled by manipulating the size, shape, and orientation of the materials. Recent advancements in ferroic materials include the development of new synthesis methods, the discovery of new materials with enhanced properties, and the exploration of novel applications.