Ferroelectric Phenomena in Crystals

This book is a response to an evident demand for a university textbook on ferroelectricity. The authors discuss the current understanding of the physical nature of ferroelectric phenomena in a consistent and logical form using both phenomenological and microscopic approaches. They present not a descriptive but a conceptual view on the phenomenon and its position in the framework of the more general problem of structural phase transitions. Moreover, the book provides a basis for better understanding of the structural phase transitions themselves. The book is self-sufficient and the level is appropriate for students who seek a deeper understanding of ferroelectric phenomena in dielectrics.
TOC: General Characteristics of Structural Phase Transitions in Crystals; Phenomenological Theory of Second-Order Structural Transitions in Crystals; Proper Ferroelectrics: Anomalies of Physical Properties in Phase Transitions; Dielectric Anomalies in Structural Nonferroelectric and Improper Ferroelectric Phase Transitions; Anomalies of Elastic and Electromechanical Characteristics of Crystals in Second-Order Phase Transitions; Fluctuations of the Order Parameter in Phenomenological Theory; Structural Phase Transitions in the Single-Ion Model; Statistical Theory of Ferroelectric Phase Transitions of the Order-Disorder Type; Dynamics of Displacive and Order-Disorder Phase Transitions; Domain Structure and Defects; Ferroelectrics with an Incommensurate Phase; Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals; Crystallochemical Aspects of the Theory of Ferroelectric Phenomena; Recommended Literature