Piezo- and pyroelectric microscopy

In recent decades piezo- and pyroelectricity found application in yet another important field of research. A number of methods have been developed which employ these properties to investigate the micro- and macroscopic polarization of materials. Advances in piezo- and pyroelectric imaging enabled researchers to examine the polarization distribution of a sample with unprecedented detail. This review attempts to inform the general reader about some of those experimental techniques and their findings.