Antiferroelectric Phase Transitions Under Electric Fields: A Review of Physics and Applications

ABSTRACT

Antiferroelectrics, distinguished by reversible field‐driven phase transitions, hold broad promise for energy storage, cooling, and microelectronic devices. Yet the field remains fragmented by enduring debates on transition mechanisms and the absence of a framework that unifies microscopic ordering with macroscopic functionality. Moving beyond isolated progress reports, this review integrates thermodynamic formalisms, phase‐field simulations, and experimental advances to construct a coherent multiscale hierarchy. We critically reconcile phenomenological models with atomistic origins, map regulation strategies onto fundamental free‐energy landscapes, and anchor emerging applications—including negative capacitance, tunneling junctions, and thermal switches—in their underlying phase‐transition physics. We further identify CMOS‐compatible fluorite‐structured antiferroelectrics and machine‐learning‐accelerated multiscale modeling as critical translational frontiers. By bridging long‐standing fundamentals with application‐driven design, this work provides a framework to accelerate both mechanistic discovery and device innovation.