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

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