Resonance type dielectric behavior in solids

Experimental evidence now indicates that the microwave dielectric properties of solids are strongly influenced by the infrared active phonon modes. The “real dielectric constant”, ε′, of polar materials, i. e. those in which ?′ is noticeably greater than the square of the optical index of refraction, exhibits a temperature dependence dominated by the change of integrated infrared absorption. The microwave dielectric loss, ?″, is influenced by the low frequency “tail” of the infrared resonance type absorption, as may be inferred from the monotonic increase with temperature and proportionality to frequency. It is suggested that the one dimensional coupling of the electric field to the acoustic modes of a dielectric solid would lead to additional low frequency “background” dielectric losses which are essentially frequency independent, in agreement with experimental observations.