Engineering the Maxwell-Wagner polarization effect

Layered structures, when supporting the Maxwell-Wagner polarization mechanism, exhibit very large effective electric permittivity and thus can be used for miniaturizing purposes. However, the large interfacial dimensions evolved, limit the Maxwell-Wagner polarization at relatively low frequencies. Any element or mechanism that causes a spatial variation of charge density, contributes to the dielectric susceptibility of a medium. Thus, intentionally planted polarization states can be used for further exploiting the Maxwell-Wagner polarization mechanism.     

Dielectric relaxation and ac conductivity behavior of carboxyl functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes/poly (vinyl alcohol) composites

We study the dielectric relaxation and ac conductivity behavior of MWCNT-COOH/Polyvinyl alcohol nanocomposite films in the temperature (T) range 303–423 K and in the frequency (f) range 0.1 Hz–1 MHz. The dielectric constant increases with an increase in temperature and also with an increase in MWCNT-COOH loading into the polymer matrix, as a result of interfacial polarization. The permittivity data were found to fit well with the modified Cole-Cole equation. Temperature dependent values of the relaxation times, free charge carrier conductivity and space charge carrier conductivity were extracted from the equation. An observed increment in the ac conductivity for the nanocomposites was analysed by a Jonscher power law which suggests that the correlated barrier hopping is the dominant charge transport mechanism for the nanocomposite films. The electric modulus study revealed deviations from ideal Debye-type behavior which are explained by considering a generalized susceptibility function. XRD and DSC results show an increase in the degree of crystallinity.     

Structural,electrical and optical properties of MgO-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite for optoelectronic applications

MgO-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites (NCs) were synthesized by a simple two-step chemical method. The microstructure, surface morphology, and composition of the prepared samples have been studied. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis confirmed the crystalline cubic MgO nanoparticle and rGO sheets. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed the spherical MgO nanoparticles well dispersed over the graphene sheets. UV–visible spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that a red shift in the wavelength dependent absorbance curve. The band gap of the samples was found to be decreased with the increase of rGO content. The dielectric studies have been examined in the frequency range 500 Hz−5 MHz and found significant improvement in the dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and electric properties due to rGO addition.This is mainly attributed to the strong interfacial polarization (Maxwell–Wagner polarization) between MgO and rGO sheets. Further, the modulation of charge carrier density with rGO additions help to enhance the electrical conductivity of NCs and thus, encouraging to have wider application in electronic and energy technologies.     

Swift heavy ion induced capacitance and dielectric properties of Ni/n-GaAs Schottky diode

The in-situ capacitance and dielectric properties of 25 MeV C⁴⁺ ion irradiated Ni/n-GaAs Schottky barrier diode (SBD) were studied at 100 kHz in the fluence range 5 × 10¹⁰ – 5 × 10¹³ ions/cm². The investigation shows reduction in capacitance and charge density with increase in ion fluence. Consequent changes were observed in other related parameters like conductance, dielectric constant, dielectric loss, loss tangent and electrical modulus. The results were interpreted in terms of generation of swift heavy ion induced acceptor trap states by electronic energy loss mechanism. Besides, the switch over characteristics of depletion to inversion regions in the CV plot reveals minority carrier recombination centers also. The dispersion and relaxation peaks observed in bias dependent dielectric plots were ascribed to the polarization and relaxation mechanism due to the interfacial trap states. The traps and recombination centers were found to alter the barrier characteristics of the fabricated SBD depending upon the ion fluence.     

Electric polarization, magnetoelectric effect, and orbital state of a layered iron oxide with frustrated geometry

A layered iron oxide RFe2O4 (R denotes rare-earth-metal elements) is an exotic dielectric material with charge-order (CO) driven electric polarization and magnetoelectric effect caused by spin-charge coupling. In this paper, a theory of electronic structure and dielectric property in RFe2O4 is presented. Charge frustration in paired-triangular lattices allows a charge imbalance without inversion symmetry. Spin frustration induces reinforcement of this polar CO by a magnetic ordering. We also analyze an orbital model for the Fe ion which does not show a conventional long-range order.     

Finely-reconciled high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss in ternary polymer/Cr2C3/montmorillonite composite films by filler-synergy strategy

Polymer/conductive ceramic composites with high dielectric constant have become research hotspot of dielectric capacitor materials. However, the conductivity and dielectric loss increase when high dielectric constant is achieved. In order to reconcile high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss, in this study, poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/chromium carbide (Cr₂C₃)/montmorillonite (MMT) ternary composite films were prepared by solution cast. Dielectric response based on interfacial polarization was improved and dielectric constant of composites was increased. MMT ceramic was used to suppress interface leakage current. Compared with PVDF/Cr₂C₃ composites, the conductivity and dielectric loss of ternary composites were reduced.     

Effect of nickel doping on structural, optical and electrical properties of TiO2 nanoparticles by sol-gel method

Nickel-doped anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles have been prepared by sol-gel method. The X-ray powder diffraction study reveals that all the prepared samples have pure anatase phase tetragonal system. The average crystallite size of the prepared sample is 14 nm, when found through transmission electron microscope. A strong frequency dependence of both dielectric constant (?′) and dielectric loss (tan δ) were observed for various dopant levels at room temperature in the frequency range of 42 Hz to 5 MHz. At low frequency, the piling up of mobile charge carriers at the grain boundary produces interfacial polarization giving rise to high dielectric constant. The asymmetric shape of frequency dependence of the dielectric loss for the primary relaxation process is observed for each concentration. From the ac conductivity studies, the reduction in conductivity may arise due to the decreasing particle with the increase in Ni-dopant level.     

Dielectric properties for the ordered-perovskite cuprate Sr2Cu(Re0.69Ca0.31)O6

Dielectric properties are reported on polycrystalline cubic ordered-perovskite cuprate Sr₂Cu(Re_0.69Ca_0.31)O₆ in the frequency range 10 Hz-100 kHz at temperature from 300 to 500 K. Both the dielectric permittivity and dielectric loss factor are found to be frequency and temperature dependent. The enhanced value of the low frequency dielectric permittivity is associated to ionic polarization and interfacial phenomena. The material is found to possess significantly high dielectric permittivity. The calculated ac conductivity suggests semiconducting behaviour for the Sr₂Cu(Re_0.69Ca_0.31)O₆.     

Atomic-scale compensation phenomena at polar interfaces

The interfacial screening charge that arises to compensate electric fields of dielectric or ferroelectric thin films is now recognized as the most important factor in determining the capacitance or polarization of ultrathin ferroelectrics. Here we investigate using aberration-corrected electron microscopy and density-functional theory to show how interfaces cope with the need to terminate ferroelectric polarization. In one case, we show evidence for ionic screening, which has been predicted by theory but never observed. For a ferroelectric film on an insulating substrate, we found that compensation can be mediated by an interfacial charge generated, for example, by oxygen vacancies.     

Theoretical Study of Antiferrodistortive Phase Transition in Strontium Titanate

SrTiO₃在105 K发生反铁畸变从立方相进入四方相,这是由氧八面体绕一晶轴转动一微小角度引起的. 根据居里原理分析其序参量是一个三阶全对称的极张量. 从吉布斯自由能出发,得到了考虑量子效应的介电常数,并分析了低温时的居里-外斯行为. SrTiO₃的低温介电行为与Sr²⁺的离子半径小有关,与BaTiO₃和PbTiO₃中的Ba²⁺和Pb²⁺相比,Sr²⁺更容易在氧八面体孔道中移动.     

束缚电荷特性的实验演示

电介质表面在极化过程中产生束缚电荷,束缚电荷与自由电荷有明显的区别,通过一系列的实验,演示了束缚电荷既不能离开电介质,也不能在电介质中自由移动,也就是“束缚”的特性。     

Space charge behavior and its modified electric field in the cross-linked polyethylene under applied voltage DC and different temperatures

In this paper, space charge behavior in dielectric material and the capacitive charge at an electrode-dielectric interface, at room temperature under an applied electric field, has been investigated. This was done for a single sample and for a combination of the sample and a non-stressed sample using the pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) method. A negative charge injected at the dielectric interface under an electric field (polarization) and high temperatures was focused on. It was found that negative charge injection takes place under all the test conditions, and this charge can be affected by the electric field and the temperature.     

Evidence for electret polarization in polyoxymethylene

It has been found that under certain experimental conditions, polyoxymethylene films undergo a microscopic as well as macroscopic polarization resulting in electret formation. Thermally stimulated discharge (TSD) currents have been measured for polyoxymethylene film electrets of 100 μM prepared at various polarizing fields and polarization temperatures. Experimental evidence like the shift of the discharge current peak with polarization temperature, and a nonlinear dependence of the accumulated charge on field strength suggests the formation of a space charge and interfacial polarization. The observed TSD peak at 130°C coincides with the α -relaxation temperature in low-frequency dielectric measurements. Activation energies and relaxation times have been calculated on the basis of the experimental data.     

Band renormalization and spin polarization of MoS2 in graphene/MoS2 heterostructures

Transition metal dichalcogenides exhibit spin–orbit split bands at the K‐point that become spin polarized for broken crystal inversion symmetry. This enables simultaneous manipulation of valley and spin degrees of freedom. While the inversion symmetry is broken for monolayers, we show here that spin polarization of the MoS₂ surface may also be obtained by interfacing it with graphene, which induces a space charge region in the surface of MoS₂. Polarization induced symmetry breaking in the potential gradient of the space charge is considered to be responsible for the observed spin polarization. In addition to spin polarization we also observe a renormalization of the valence band maximum (VBM) upon interfacing of MoS₂ with graphene. The energy difference between the VBM at the Γ‐point and K‐point shifts by ～150 meV between the clean and graphene covered surface. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Evolution of polarization singularities accompanied by avoided crossing in plasmonic system

The evolution of polarization singularities supported in a one-dimensional periodic plasmonic system is studied. The lateral inversion symmetry of the system, which breaks the in-plane inversion symmetry and up-down mirror symmetry simultaneously, yields abundant polarization states. A complete evolution process with geometry for the polarization states is traced. In the evolution, circularly polarized points (C points) can stem from 3 different processes. In addition to the previously reported processes occurring in an isolated band, a new type of C point appearing in two bands simultaneously due to the avoided band crossing, is observed. Unlike the dielectric system with a similar structure which only supports at-$\varGamma$ bound states in the continuum (BICs), accidental BICs off the $\varGamma$ point are realized in this plasmonic system. This work provides a new scheme of polarization manipulation for the plasmonic systems.     

Born effective charge reversal and metallic threshold state at a band insulator-Mott insulator transition

We study the quantum phase transition between a band (“ionic”) insulator and a Mott-Hubbard insulator, realized at a critical value in a bipartite Hubbard model with two inequivalent sites, whose on-site energies differ by an offset . The study is carried out both in D=1 and D=2 (square and honeycomb lattices), using exact Lanczos diagonalization, finite-size scaling, and Berry's phase calculations of the polarization. The Born effective charge jump from positive infinity to negative infinity previously discovered in D=1 by Resta and Sorella is confirmed to be directly connected with the transition from the band insulator to the Mott insulating state, in agreement with recent work of Ortiz et al. In addition, symmetry is analysed, and the transition is found to be associated with a reversal of inversion symmetry in the ground state, of magnetic origin. We also study the D=1 excitation spectrum by Lanczos diagonalization and finite-size scaling. Not only the spin gap closes at the transition, consistent with the magnetic nature of the Mott state, but also the charge gap closes, so that the intermediate state between the two insulators appears to be metallic. This finding, rationalized within Hartree-Fock as due to a sign change of the effective on-site energy offset for the minority spin electrons, underlines the profound difference between the two insulators. The band-to-Mott insulator transition is also studied and found in the same model in D=2. There too we find an associated, although weaker, polarization anomaly, with some differences between square and honeycomb lattices. The honeycomb lattice, which does not possess an inversion symmetry, is used to demonstrate the possibility of an inverted piezoelectric effect in this kind of ionic Mott insulator. Received 21 May 1999     

Dielectric analysis of the interfacial polarization of alkali treated woven flax fibers reinforced epoxy composites

Dielectric measurements were performed on alkali treated flax fibers reinforced epoxy composites in the frequency range 0.1 Hz–1 MHz and the temperature range 40–170 °C. Two common dielectric relaxations were observed for all composites. The first one appearing at low temperatures was attributed to the water dipoles polarization due to the hydrophilic character of flax fibers. The second one observed at high temperatures was identified to the interfacial polarization. Analysis of this latter using the Havriliak–Negami model showed an improvement of the fibers/matrix adhesion by these alkali treatments. The best adhesion was obtained by the leaching treatment.     

极化电荷与自由电荷之间区别的演示实验

通过将导体放入静电场发生的静电感应现象和将绝缘体（电介质）放入静电场发生的极化现象,演示一组实验,生动地显示了电介质被极化出的正、负电荷,既不能离开电介质,也不能在电介质中自由移动,就是将带有极化电荷的电介质与导体接触,极化电荷也不会与导体上的自由电荷中和,即极化电荷牢固地束缚在介质上．说明极化电荷与自由电荷之间的本质区别,加深学生对这些概念的理解和运用．     

Study of dielectric and impedance properties of Mn ferrites

The paper reports on the effect of Al substitution on the structural and electrical properties of bulk ferrite series of basic composition MnFe_2−2xAl_2xO₄ (0.0≤x≤0.5) synthesized using solid state reaction method. XRD analysis confirms that all the samples exhibit single phase cubic spinel structure excluding presence of any secondary phase. The dielectric constant shows a normal behaviour with frequency, whereas the loss tangent exhibits an anomalous behaviour with frequency for all compositions. Variation of dielectric properties and ac conductivity with frequency reveals that the dispersion is due to Maxwell-Wagner type of interfacial polarization in general and hopping of charge between Fe⁺² and Fe⁺³ as well as between Mn⁺² and Mn⁺³ ions at octahedral sites. The complex impedance plane spectra shows the presence of two semicircles up to x=0.2, and only one semicircle for the higher values of x. The analysis of the data shows that the resistive and capacitive properties of the Mn ferrite are mainly due to processes associated with grain and grain boundaries.