On Ferroelectricity and Antiferroelectricity of the AO₃-Type Crystal

Abstract

A calculation is performed in order to treat the problem of the relative stability of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric arrangements of constituent atoms in the AO₃-type crystal such as WO₃, where the electronic polarizabilities of negative and positive ions are regarded as the variable parameters. It is disclosed that the stability of each arrangement depends in a delicate manner upon the electronic polarizabilities of the constituent ions, and that, with a reasonable choice of these polarizabilities, the ferroelectricity and antiferroelectricity of tungsten trioxide can be explained. It is also found that a sort of “ferrielectric” state can be realized for some values of the polarizabilities of the ions in the AO₃-type crystal.