Did Barium Titanate Begin A Golden Age of Ferroelectricity?
Of the many titanate compounds available and widely used in industrial practices, barium titanate might possibly be the one that changed entire industries the most through the widespread development of a critical type of insulator.
The concept of ferroelectricity was not invented with the discovery of barium titanate, with the concept first discovered by Elie Seignette in the 17th century. The term comes from its similarity to ferromagnetism, not because any ferroelectric materials actually contain iron.
The first ferroelectric, Rochelle salt, deforms when an electric field is applied to them, a property that was only discovered in 1921, although given the structure of the material it remained to be seen if it could be usefully applied.
That question was comprehensively answered in 1945 with the discovery of barium titanate’s ferroelectric properties, making it the first ferroelectric material that did not have any hydrogen bonds in its structure.
This was important as it allowed it to be far more widely used as a capacitor and have multiple phases of ferroelectricity. This made it hugely important for military and industrial applications, and the hunt for other similar materials would only bring this even further forward.
The following decade and beyond, from 1945 until the early 1960s led to the discovery of 100 ferroelectric materials as well as a wide range of discoveries surrounding industrial applications for ferroelectricity as a concept.
This was known as the Golden Age of Ferroelectricity and proved to be one of the most fertile grounds for the early application and evolution of titanates with a footprint and consequences that we still see today in various electronic industries.
It also allowed for the development of a widespread electronic industry and the beginnings of miniaturisation.
Before the ability to use barium titanate as a capacitor, the main insulating materials used in electrical experiments were paper and mica, a silicate primarily found in paints and drywall material.
Barium titanate changed that by being both better suited for the task and also more widely available.
