Ferroelectricity

Researchers at the Institute of Materials Science in Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (Germany) have used a unique microscopy technique to demonstrate that perovskites are not ferroelectric, as was thought.

The new technique, patented by CSIC in 2017, is the direct piezoelectric force microscopy (DPFM) which, for the first time, is used in lead halide perovskite solar cells.

A team of scientists from Hokkaido University and the global electronics company TDK Corporation in Japan has developed a method to improve the insulating properties of certain perovskites for potential use as ceramic capacitors.

Ceramic capacitors are used in a wide variety of electronics, ranging from computers and mobile phones to telecommunications transmitter stations and high voltage laser power supplies. Capacitors are dielectric, and act as electronic insulators in which an electric field can be sustained with minimum loss of power. Their dielectric properties allow them to store electricity and then release it. One of the most widely used ceramics in capacitors is lead zirconate titanate, but it is hazardous to the health and the environment once it's disposed. Scientists are trying to find other less hazardous ceramic materials for use in capacitors.