Changes of dielectric and ferroelectric properties of functional materials under external electric field and compressive stress

This review summarizes the seminal work on the influence of the external stimuli on the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of some technologically important functional materials in the past two decades. These works reflect the important studies of how the external applied electric field and mechanical stress of the properties of materials. In addition to some works by prior important pioneers, the review pointed out several works from our previous investigations on scaling behaviors, in which the effects of field frequency and magnitude were studied in PZT- and BaTiO3-based single crystals and ceramics. The influence of the compressive stress on dielectric and ferroelectric properties of prototypic functional materials was also examined and summarized. In summary, the external stimuli were found to show significant influence on the important properties of these functional materials.