Ferroelectric materials have been utilized in a broad range of electronic, optical, and electromechanical applications and hold the promise for the design of future high-density nonvolatile memories and multifunctional nano-devices. The applications of ferroelectric materials stem from the ability to switch polarized domains by applying an electric field, and therefore a fundamental understanding of the switching dynamics is critical for design of practical devices. In this review, we summarize the progress in the study of the microscopic process of ferroelectric domain switching using recently developed in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We first briefly introduce the instrumentation, experimental procedures, imaging mechanisms, and analytical methods of the state-of-the-art in situ TEM techniques. The application of these techniques to studying a wide range of complex switching phenomena, including domain nucleation, domain wall motion, domain relaxation, domain-defect interaction, and the interplay between different types of domains, is demonstrated. The underlying physics of these dynamic processes are discussed.

中文翻译：

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铁电畴切换的实时研究：综述

铁电材料已被广泛用于电子、光学和机电应用，并有望用于未来高密度非易失性存储器和多功能纳米器件的设计。铁电材料的应用源于通过施加电场来切换极化域的能力，因此对切换动力学的基本理解对于实际器件的设计至关重要。在这篇综述中，我们总结了使用最近开发的原位透射电子显微镜 (TEM) 研究铁电畴切换微观过程的进展。我们首先简要介绍最先进的原位 TEM 技术的仪器、实验程序、成像机制和分析方法。展示了这些技术在研究范围广泛的复杂切换现象中的应用，包括域成核、域壁运动、域松弛、域缺陷相互作用以及不同类型域之间的相互作用。讨论了这些动态过程的基础物理学。