Landau-Devonshire theory1is a useful phenomenological model to describe the properties of ferroelectric phase transitions. Below the transition temperature, the Landau model can be generalized to describe the thermodynamic stability of a ferroelectric crystallite in a bistable polarized configuration, and to predict the response of the crystallite to external fields and charges. The three primary elements to be considered in modeling thin-film ferroelectric devices are the polar response of the ferroelectric itself, the contribution of electrode interfaces, and the interaction of mobile and immobile charged defects and carriers with the ferroelectric and the electrodes. First, the hysteresis properties of a single domain or crystallite are derived. This result is generalized to find the polar response in a polycrystalline film where there may be variations in the size and orientation of the crystallites and in the coercivity, remanence and offset of the domains. After postulating that metal electrodes form Schottky barriers with respect to the ferroelectric, we can then calculate the electric fields and potentials throughout the ferroelectric film. These calculations show that space charges form near the electrodes and the magnitude of the electric field in these regions is large. A further examination of the space charges results in a model for the C-V response of the ferroelectric capacitor, as the C-V response is dominated by space charge effects. The charge concentrations, contact potentials, high-field permittivity, and space charge widths can be extracted from the C-V data. Finally, the interactions between defects and domains leading to domain pinning and fatigue are investigated.