Group 1: Fundamentals of Ferroelectrics and Related Materials

• Electronic conduction phenomena in bulk ferroelectrics, thin films and domain walls (ferroelectric tunneling, ferroelectric & magnetoresistive barriers, domain wall electronics)

• Point defects & nanoionics in oxides (electroresistive & neuromorphic systems; fundamental aspects of ionic motion & defects in functional oxides; ionically-mediated electromechanical responses)

• Ionic phenomena in ferroelectrics (reliability & lifetime, degradation, aging, fundamental aspects of wall pinning and order parameter interactions)

• Surface and interface phenomena on ferroelectric materials: screening and dead layers and domain wall instabilities

• Domain engineering

• Relaxor and birelaxor ferroelectrics/dielectrics and disorder effects

• Ferroelectric photovoltaics (bulk and barrier photovoltaic effects, photostriction, photopoling, photoconductivity, etc.)

• Theory & modeling (domain structure, phase transitions, critical phenomena, density functional theory, first-principles calculations, phenomenology)

• Nanoscale phenomena (nanostructure & size effects on piezo-/ferroelectric properties)

• Multiferroics & magnetoelectric effects

• Flexoelectricity in bulk materials, membranes and structures

• Development of new ferroelectric and multiferroic materials: experiments & theory

• Ferroelectricity in non-classical materials: binary oxides, sulfides and fluorides

Group 2: Processing of Ferroelectric Crystals, Ceramics, Thick and Thin Films

• Bulk materials (single crystals, ceramics, polymers, liquid crystals & composites)

• Thick & thin film processing technologies (preparation, characterization)

• Patterning methods (net-shape forming, microfabrication)

• Biomaterials (biofilms, self-organized nanostructures & ferroelectric-like tissue)

Group 3: Characterization & Properties of Ferroelectrics

• Fundamental phenomena in ferroelectrics through scattering (X-ray & neutron scattering of structure, bulk and domain wall dynamics, phenomena at surfaces and interfaces)

• Electron microscopy of ferroelectric materials (direct mapping of order parameter fields, surface and interface phenomena, in-situ studies of domain switching)

• Raman and optical spectroscopies of ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials

• Local phenomena in ferroelectrics by scanning probe microscopy methods: piezoresponse force microscopy, optical near field imaging, and microwave microscopy

• Spectroscopic probing of electronic and electrochemical phenomena at ferroelectric surfaces and interfaces

• Electrical & electromechanical characterization (broadband dielectric spectroscopy, piezoelectric characterization, non-linear methods, etc.)

• Novel characterization methods (focused X-ray ptychography, etc)

Group 4: Applications of Ferroelectrics, Piezoelectrics and Related Materials

• Ferroelectrics & antiferroelectrics for energy (electrocaloric materials & devices, ferroelectric photovoltaics, thermoelectric materials & devices)

• Dielectrics (capacitors, ultra high-K materials, RF & THz materials & properties, energy storage harvesting devices, MRI Concepts (dielectrics for focusing, etc.))

• Medical ultrasound transducers, ultrasound actuators, and sensors for harsh environments

• Ferroelectric memory materials & devices

• Piezoelectricity (high-performance piezoelectric single crystals, lead-free piezoelectrics, piezoelectric polymers, MEMS & other integrated piezo-devices)

• Pyroelectric materials & devices

• Optical phenomena (signal processing, storage devices, periodic poling, photonic band-gaps)