The collaborative project of the Institute of Physics of the AS CR, v.v.i. and the Department of Condensed Matter Physics entitled “Computational design of high-performance ferroelectrics” was awarded by the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR).
The project focusses on modern lead-free ferroelectric materials, based on perovskite solid solutions in the composition range of the morphologic phase boundary, with exceptional piezoelectric and electromechanical response. Despite the critical importance of these ferroelectrics for advanced technical applications; that is, sensing, actuation, and micro-electromechanical systems; the explanation of their performance remains elusive. Accessing the real short-range atomic order experimentally is problematic, and accurate calculations of their properties with current models are challenging. The project combines multiscale modelling and experiments to address problems connected with the design of high-performance ferroelectrics.
