Ferroelectric polarization reversal in single crystals

Abstract

It is fitting that the present article should be part of a festschrift to Prof. Terutaro Nakamura. In 1965–66 when he hosted my stay in his lab at the University of Tokyo, he persuaded me to write a review which forms much of the present text. Prof. Nakamura translated it into Japanese for publication in the Proceedings of the Physical Society of Japan and it was never published in English until now. I have brought it up to date, adding recent references and some comments, but I have not tried to cover polarization reversal in ceramics or the new deposited ferroelectrics used in modern ferroelectric memories. It is a pleasure to acknowledge my many debts to Prof. Nakamura.