The snapping dipoles of ferroelectrics as a memory element for digital computers

A brief review is given of the memory properties of non-linear ferroelectric materials in terms of the direction of polarization. A sensitive pulse method has been developed for obtaining static remanent polarization data of ferroelectric materials. This method has been applied to study the effect of pulse duration and amplitude and decay of polarization on ferroelectric ceramic materials with fairly high crystalline orientation. These studies indicate that ferroelectric memory devices can be operated in the megacycle ranges. Attempts have been made to develop electrostatically induced memory devices using ferroelectric substances as a medium for storing information. As an illustration, a ferroelectric memory using a new type of switching matrix is presented having a selection ratio 50 or more.