Theory of ferroelectrics: a vision for the next decade and beyond

In the last ten years significant advances have been made in our understanding and ability to compute and predict properties of ferroelectrics and piezoelectrics using fundamental physics. Phase diagrams, electromechanical and elastic properties, and effects of defects and surfaces are now amenable to computation. Most importantly, new techniques have been developed, and new understanding of the meaning of polarization in dielectrics has been developed. Prospects for the future are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.