Ferroelectric nanocrystals and their switching

The behavior of ferroelectricity at the nanoscale is the focus of increasing research activity because of intense interest in the fundamental nature of spontaneous order in condensed-matter systems and because of the many practical applications of ferroelectric thin films and nanocrystals to, for example, electromechanical transducers, infrared imaging sensors, and nonvolatile memories. In recent years there has been increasing interest in the growth and characterization of ferroelectric nanocrystals. In spite of the limited number of reported results, we hope that this will be a useful review of important recent developments. (methodological notes)