DIELECTRIC BEHAVIOR OF MATERIALS

Metals like Cu Solids like Mg Insulators

Band gap > 2 eV Semiconductors

 Difficult to excite electrons from valence to conduction band by thermal means or

by applied electric field.
 Very poor conductor of electricity
 Exhibits or may be made to exhibit an electric dipole structure; that is, there is a
separation of positive and negative electrically charged entities on a molecular or
atomic level.

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CAPACITANCE
When a voltage is applied across a capacitor, one plate becomes positively
charged, the other negatively charged, with the corresponding electric field
directed from the positive to the negative.

Q = quantity of charge stored on either plate

V = voltage applied across the capacitor

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FIELD VECTORS & POLARIZATION
Electric dipole, there is a separation between a + ve and a - ve electric charge.

Electric dipole moment p

p = qd

In presence of an electric field

In presence of an electric field E, there will
be a force (or torque) on the electric dipole
to orient it with the applied field;
The process of dipole alignment is termed
polarization.

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FIELD VECTORS & POLARIZATION
For the capacitor, the surface charge density D, or quantity of charge per unit area
of capacitor plate (C/m2), is proportional to the electric field.

vacuum

dielectric material

dipole arrangement in an
unpolarized dielectric
increased charge-storing capacity resulting
from the polarization of a dielectric material.

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POLARIZATION

In the presence of a dielectric, the surface charge density on the plates of a

capacitor may be represented by
D = 0E + P
where P is the polarization, or the increase in charge density above that for a
vacuum because of the presence of the dielectric;
P = Q/A, A = area of each plate.
Polarization P may also be thought of as the total dipole moment per unit volume
of the dielectric material,
or as a polarization electric field within the dielectric that results from the
mutual alignment of the many atomic or molecular dipoles with the externally
applied field E.
For many dielectric materials, P is proportional to E through the relationship
P = 0 (r-1)E

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TYPES OF POLARIZATION
Polarization is the alignment of permanent or induced atomic or molecular
dipole moments with an externally applied electric field.

There are four types or sources of polarization:

electronic, ionic, orientation & space-charge.
Dielectric materials ordinarily exhibit at least one of these polarization types
depending on the material and also the manner of the external field application.

Electronic polarization
-may be induced to one degree or another in all atoms.
-results from a displacement of the center of the
negatively charged electron cloud relative to the positive
nucleus of an atom by the electric field
-found in all dielectric materials and, exists only while an
electric field is present.
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TYPES OF POLARIZATION
Ionic polarization Applied field
No field

-occurs only in materials that are ionic.
-An applied field acts to displace cations in one
direction and anions in the opposite direction, which
gives rise to a net dipole moment.
-magnitude of dipole moment for each ion pair
pi = qdi ; di is relative displacement

Orientation polarization
-found only in substances that possess permanent dipole Applied field
moments. No field

-results from a rotation of the permanent moments into the
direction of the applied field
-This alignment tendency is counteracted by the thermal
vibrations of the atoms, such that polarization decreases
with increasing temperature.
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TYPES OF POLARIZATION
Space charge polarization

-occurs due to accumulation of

charges at electrodes or at interfaces
in a multiphase material
-ions diffuse over appreciable
distance in response to the applied
electric field  redistribution of
charges in the dielectric medium.

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TOTAL POLARIZATION & ITS RELAXATION
The total polarization P of a substance is equal to sum of all types of polarizations

P = Pe + Pi + Po + Ps

How much time does it take?

Consider a dielectric material subjected to polarization by an AC electric
field.
With each direction reversal, the dipoles attempt
to reorient with the field in a process requiring
some finite time.
For each polarization type, some minimum
reorientation time exists, which depends on the
ease with which the particular dipoles are capable of realignment
Relaxation frequency = Reciprocal of the minimum reorientation time.

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FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF POLARIZATION

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FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF POLARIZATION
Orientation polarization
- slower than ionic polarization processes
- typical frequency that is required is order of
1010 Hz (audio range)

Space-charge polarization
- the slowest polarization processes
- involves movement of ions by several
interatomic distances
- related to the frequency of successful jumps
of ions under influence of the applied field
- typical frequency that is required is order of
1010 Hz (audio range)

Dielectric loss
Absorption of electrical energy by a
dielectric material that is subjected to an alternating
electric field
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DIELECTRIC STRENGTH

How high can be the applied field --- what is the upper limit ?

When very high electric fields are applied across dielectric materials, large numbers
of electrons may suddenly be excited to energies within the conduction band.

As a result
the current through the dielectric by the motion of these electrons increases
dramatically;
sometimes localized melting, burning, or vaporization produces irreversible
degradation and perhaps even failure of the material.

This phenomenon is known as dielectric breakdown.

The dielectric strength, sometimes called the breakdown strength, represents the
magnitude of an electric field necessary to produce breakdown.

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DIELECTRIC MATERIALS

A number of ceramics and polymers are used as insulators and/or in capacitors.

Many of the ceramics, including glass, porcelain, steatite, and mica, have dielectric
constants within the range of 6 to 10.
These materials also exhibit a high degree of dimensional stability and mechanical
strength.
Typical applications include power line and electrical insulation, switch bases, and
light receptacles.

Ferroelectric, Piezoelectric & Pyroelectric materials

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FERROELECTRIC MATERIAL
- Exhibit spontaneous polarization - that is, polarization in the absence of an electric field
- There must exist in ferroelectric materials permanent electric dipoles
- have extremely high dielectric constants at relatively low applied field frequencies; for
example, at room temperature, r for barium titanate may be as high as 5000.
- Consequently, capacitors made from these materials can be significantly smaller than
capacitors made from other dielectric materials.

Case study: BaTiO3

Ba2+ ions : at corners of tetragonal unit cell

Dipole moment results from the relative displacements of the O2-
and Ti4+ ions from their symmetrical positions.
O2- ions are located near, but slightly below, the centers of each of
the six faces,
Ti4+ ion is displaced upward from the unit cell center.
Thus, a permanent ionic dipole moment is associated with each unit
cell

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PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIAL

Polarization is induced and an electric field is established across a specimen by the

application of external forces.
Reversing the sign of an external force (i.e., from tension to compression) reverses the
direction of the field.

Piezoelectric materials are used in transducers, which are devices that convert electrical
energy into mechanical strains, or vice versa.
Piezoelectric materials include titanates of barium and lead, lead zirconate (PbZrO3),
ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (NH4H2PO4), and quartz.

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PYROELECTRIC MATERIAL

Pyroelectricity is the ability of certain materials to generate a temporary voltage

when they are heated or cooled.
The change in temperature modifies the positions of the atoms slightly within the
crystal structure, such that the polarization of the material changes.
This polarization change gives rise to a voltage across the crystal.
If the temperature stays constant at its new value, the pyroelectric voltage
gradually disappears due to leakage current (the leakage can be due to electrons
moving through the crystal, ions moving through the air, current leaking through a
voltmeter attached across the crystal, etc.).
Example: Lithium tantalate (LiTaO3)
All pyroelectric materials are also piezoelectric, the two properties being closely
related. However, note that some piezoelectric materials have a crystal symmetry
that does not allow pyroelectricity.

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