Probing anti-ferroelectric to feeoelectric structural phase transitions: towards high power energy transformation devices

Functional polar materials which can be rapidly switched from an anti-ferroelectric to a ferroelectric state or vice-versa via an applied electric field or appropriate applied stress are both of fundamental interest as well as associated with a wide range of exploitable physical properties. A targeted range of these materials will be synthesised and their measured electro-mechanical coupling properties correlated with detailed structural studies carried out using state-of-the-art diffraction and imaging techniques. The factors that control the ability of such materials to respond to applied electric fields and mechanical stresses will be identified and the results used to fabricate prototype devices.