electromagnetics In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...

and

materials science Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials sci ...

, antiferroelectricity is a physical property of certain materials. It is closely related to

ferroelectricity In physics and materials science, ferroelectricity is a characteristic of certain materials that have a spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by the application of an external electric field. All ferroelectrics are also piezoel ...

; the relation between antiferroelectricity and ferroelectricity is analogous to the relation between

antiferromagnetism In materials that exhibit antiferromagnetism, the magnetic moments of atoms or molecules, usually related to the spins of electrons, align in a regular pattern with neighboring spins (on different sublattices) pointing in opposite directions. ...

and

ferromagnetism Ferromagnetism is a property of certain materials (such as iron) that results in a significant, observable magnetic permeability, and in many cases, a significant magnetic coercivity, allowing the material to form a permanent magnet. Ferromagne ...

. An antiferroelectric material consists of an ordered (

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

line) array of

electric dipole The electric dipole moment is a measure of the separation of positive and negative electrical charges within a system: that is, a measure of the system's overall polarity. The SI unit for electric dipole moment is the coulomb-metre (C⋅m). The ...

s (from the ions and electrons in the material), but with adjacent

dipole In physics, a dipole () is an electromagnetic phenomenon which occurs in two ways: * An electric dipole moment, electric dipole deals with the separation of the positive and negative electric charges found in any electromagnetic system. A simple ...

s oriented in opposite (antiparallel) directions (the dipoles of each orientation form interpenetrating sublattices, loosely analogous to a

checkerboard A checkerboard (American English) or chequerboard (British English) is a game board of check (pattern), checkered pattern on which checkers (also known as English draughts) is played. Most commonly, it consists of 64 squares (8×8) of alternating ...

pattern). This can be contrasted with a ferroelectric, in which the dipoles all point in the same direction. In an antiferroelectric, unlike a ferroelectric, the total, macroscopic spontaneous polarization is zero, since the adjacent dipoles cancel each other out. Antiferroelectricity is a property of a material, and it can appear or disappear (more generally, strengthen or weaken) depending on temperature, pressure, external electric field, growth method, and other parameters. In particular, at a high enough temperature, antiferroelectricity disappears; this temperature is known as the Néel point or

Curie point In physics and materials science, the Curie temperature (''T''C), or Curie point, is the temperature above which certain materials lose their magnet, permanent magnetic properties, which can (in most cases) be replaced by magnetization, induced ...

References

Electrical phenomena Phases of matter {{electromagnetism-stub