Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have developed a ferroelectric ceramic that combines two useful properties that are normally difficult to achieve together: large mechanical deformation and highly reversible electrical tunability. Such a combination could help simplify future electronic devices that need to both move or change shape and rapidly adjust their electrical response.

By carefully adjusting the composition of a samarium-modified PMN-PT ceramic, the researchers controlled nanoscale polar regions inside the material. An optimised composition achieved 76.4% reversible electrical tunability and 0.31% strain under an electric field of 2 kV/mm, while retaining low remanent polarization.

The study shows that controlling these nanoscale polar structures can balance electrical and mechanical responses within a single material, providing a promising design strategy for adaptive electronics, precision actuators and tunable communication technologies.