Dielectric properties of 4′-n-alkyl-4-cyanobiphenyls in their nematic phases

The principal dielectric constants of the pentyl to octyl derivatives of 4′-n-alkyl-4-cyanobiphenyl have been measured as functions of temperature in their nematic and isotropic phases. All the compounds exhibit a strong positive dielectric anisotropy due to the presence of a large dipole moment along the major molecular axis. The principal dielectric constantsε _‖ andε _⊥ as well as the anisotropy Δε decrease with increasing alkyl chain length. The experimental value of (ε_‖+2ε_⊥) decreases with decreasing temperature, and is throughout less than the extrapolated isotropic value, in conformity with the model of antiferroelectric short range order proposed by Madhusudana and Chandrasekhar.     

Space-charge relaxation and electrical conduction in?K0.5Na0.5NbO3 at high temperatures

Sodium potassium niobate K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃(KNN) ceramic was synthesized by a solid-state technique. The X-ray diffraction of the sample at room temperature showed a monoclinic phase. The real part (ε′) and imaginary part (ε″) of dielectric permittivity of the sample were measured in a frequency range from 40 Hz to 1 MHz and in a temperature range from 350 to 850 K. The ε′ deviated from Curie–Weiss law above 702 K, due to additional dielectric contributions resulting from universal dielectric response and thermally activated space charges at high temperatures. This anomaly arose from a Debye dielectric dispersion that slowed down following an Arrhenius law. We have established a link between the dielectric relaxation and the conductivity.     

Observation of relaxation modes in room temperature ferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures

The dielectric measurements in SmC* and SmA phases of a room temperature ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture FLC-6980 in the cells of different thickness in planer alignment have been carried out in the frequency range 100 Hz to 1 MHz. A relaxation mode (called NRM) whose dielectric increment is less than the Goldstone mode has been observed in the SmC* phase. This mode appears due to the surface effect. Goldstone mode and the soft mode was observable in the vicinity of SmC*-SmA transition temperature (T _C*A). The dielectric parameters of the Goldstone mode, new mode and the soft mode have been studied as a function of frequency and temperature. The calculated values for f_NRM, δε^NRM and distribution parameter α_NRM are found to be 325 kHz, 6 and 0.156 for 5μm thick planer cell at 37°C. It is seen that in the vicinity of theT _C*A, soft mode obeys the Curie-Weiss law given by mean field theory. The results have been compared with materials of large spontaneous polarization.     

Dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of 0-3 barium titanate–Portland cement composites

In this work, barium titanate (BT) and cement composites of 0-3 connectivity were produced with BT concentrations of 30%, 50% and 70% by volume using the mixing and pressing method. The dielectric constant (ε _r ) and the dielectric loss (tan δ) at room temperature and at various frequencies (0.1–20 kHz) of the ferroelectric BT-Portland cement composites with different BT concentrations were investigated. The results show that the dielectric constant of BT-PC composites was found to increase as BT concentration increases, and that the highest value for ε _r —of 436—was obtained for a BT concentration of 70%. In addition, the dielectric loss tangent decreased with increasing BT concentration. Moreover, several mathematical models were used; the experimental values of the dielectric constants are closest to those calculated from the cube model. The 0-3 cement-based piezoelectric composites show typical ferroelectric hysteresis loops at room temperature. The instantaneous remnant polarization (P _ir ), at an applied external electrical field (E ₀) of 20 kV/cm (90 Hz) of 70% barium titanate composite, was found to have a value ≈3.42 μC/cm². Furthermore, the piezoelectric coefficient (d ₃₃) was also found to increase as BT concentration increases, as expected. The highest value for d ₃₃ was 16 pC/N for 70% BT composite.     

Dielectric properties of superionic lead fluoride

Recent experimental studies show that the dielectric constant of lead fluoride increases rapidly as the superionic transition temperatureT _c is approached. In this work the static dielectric constant (ε) is calculated theoretically for low and high temperature limits. Assuming conduction to take place through a percolation mechanism,ε is found to diverge at the threshold temperatureT _th where ionic conduction starts.     

Dielectric and polar order behaviors of BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-Bi(Mg<Subscript>1/2</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>1/2</Subscript>)O<Subscript>3</Subscript> ceramics

New perovskite solid solution ceramics of (1−x)BaTiO₃-xBi(Mg_1/2Ti_1/2)O₃ ((1−x)BT-xBMT, x≤0.09) were synthesized by the solid-state reaction technique. X-ray diffraction studies have revealed a stable single perovskite structure for all samples. Dielectric measurements were carried out at different frequencies and temperatures. The polarization evolutions with temperatures were measured to investigate the ferroelectric properties. All the compositions show features of ferroelectrics with diffuse phase transition, though the temperature T _m of their dielectric constant maximum ε _m is frequency dependent. The dielectric constant peak ε(T) of (1−x)BT-xBMT ceramics become broad with increasing BMT content. During the temperature range of ε(T) peak summit, (1−x)BT-xBMT ceramics present quasi-linear dielectric phenomenon under high electric field with very high dielectric constant.     

Electrical and optical properties of vacuum deposited MnPc thin films

Sandwich and planar structures were fabricated using manganese phthalocyanine (MnPc) as active layer and gold (Au) as electrodes by thermal evaporation method. The permittivity ε of MnPc was determined from the dependence of capacitance on film thickness. J-V characteristics of Au/MnPc/Au structure at room temperature were performed. Thermally generated hole concentration p₀, hole mobility μ_p, total trap concentration N_t and depth of the trap level were estimated. The activation energies of MnPc films were determined from the Arrhenius plots of ln σ versus 1000/T. The absorption and reflectance spectra of MnPc thin film deposited at room temperature were recorded in the spectral range 300–900 nm. The optical band gap of MnPc thin film was determined from the α² versus hν graph. The optical constants n and k were found. The real and imaginary parts of the optical dielectric constant ε₁ and ε₂ were calculated.     

Electric-field dependence of dielectric properties of sol-gel derived Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 ceramics

The effect of a dc bias field on the diffuse phase transition and nonlinear dielectric properties of sol-gel derived Ba(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O₃ (BZT) ceramics are investigated. Diffuse phase transitions were observed in BZT ceramics and the Curie–Weiss exponent (CWE) was γ∼2.0. The dielectric constant versus temperature characteristics and the γ in the modified Curie–Weiss law, ε ⁻¹=ε _m ⁻¹[1+(T−T _m ) ^γ /C₁](1≤γ≤2), as a function of the dc bias field was obtained for BZT ceramics. The results indicated that γ is a function of dc bias field, and the γ value decreased from 2.04 to 1.73 with dc bias field increasing from 0 to 20 kV/cm. The dielectric constant decreases with increasing dc bias field, indicating a field-induced phase transition. The dc bias field has a strong effect on the position of the dielectric peak and affects the magnitude of the dielectric properties over a rather wide temperature range. The peak temperature of the dielectric loss does not coincide with the dielectric peak and an obvious minimum value for the dielectric loss at the temperature of the dielectric peaks is observed. At room temperature, 300 K, the high tunability (K=80%), the low loss tangent (≈0.01) and the large FOM (74), clearly imply that these ceramics are promising materials for tunable capacitor-device applications.     

Dielectric relaxation in glassy Se<Subscript>75</Subscript>In<Subscript>25−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Pb<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> alloys

In this paper we report the effect of Pb incorporation in the dielectric properties of a-Se₇₅In₂₅ glassy alloy. The temperature and frequency dependence of the dielectric constants and the dielectric losses in glassy Se₇₅In_{25 −x} Pb _x (x = 0, 5, 10 and 15) alloys in the frequency range (1 kHz-5 MHz) and temperature range (300–340 K) have been measured. A detailed analysis shows that the dielectric losses are dipolar in nature and can be understood in terms of hopping of charge carriers over a potential barrier as suggested by Elliott for the case of chalcogenide glasses. It has been found that both dielectric constant and the dielectric loss are highly dependent on frequency and temperature and also found to increase with increasing concentration of Pb in binary a-Se₇₅In₂₅ glassy system. The results have been interpreted in terms of increase in the density of defect states by the incorporation of Pb as a metallic additive in the aforesaid glassy system.     

Frequency dependence of the complex dielectric constant of poly(ethylene oxide) under hydrostatic pressure

Summary Electrical-impedance measurements have been made in the frequency range 5 Hz to10 MHz in pure poly(ethylene oxide) having a molecular weight of 600 000 from 254 K nearly up to the melting point of the crystalline phase (about 330 K). As the temperature approaches the melting point there are large increases in the realε′ and imaginaryε″ parts of the dielectric constant. The frequency dependence ofε′ is characterized by a primary-relaxation process, whose frequency increases with increasing temperature as a consequence of decrease of the average structural relaxation time. There is strong evidence that this low-frequency dispersion rises mainly from the diffusive transport of localised charge carriers rather than a purely orientation relaxation process. In addition the effects of hydrostatic pressure (0–25 Gpa) on the frequency dependences of the realε′ and imaginaryε″ parts of the dielectric constant have been measured in the same temperature range. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.     

Electron beam irradiation induced changes in liquid-crystal compound 5CB

Electron beam irradiation studies on liquid crystal material 5CB have been carried out at a temperature where the compound exists in the isotropic liquid phase. In situ time-resolved spectroscopic characterization was carried out during the irradiation. Three different transients were observed during the 2-μs electron pulse. After about 50 μs, only one transient species was found to be present, which has an absorption peak at 360 nm. Radiolysed sample exhibits a broad absorption at ∼400 nm. The dielectric measurements show that even a low level of irradiation results in a dramatic increase in the component of dielectric permittivity normal to the long axes of the molecules ε_⊥^′, and a corresponding decrease in the dielectric anisotropy (Δε′=ε_∥^′−ε_⊥^′ ). These studies show that 5CB is prone to substantial radiation damage on exposure to the beam of high-energy electrons.     

First-principles study of the optical properties of PbFX (X = Cl,Br, I) compounds in its matlockite-type structure

We present the results of the ab initio theoretical study of the optical properties for PbFX (X = Cl, Br, I) compounds in its matlockite-type structure using the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method as implemented in the WIEN2K code. We employed generalized gradient approximation (GGA), which is based on exchange-correlation energy optimization to calculate the total energy. Also we have used the Engel-Vosko GGA formalism, which optimizes the corresponding potential for band structure calculations. Our calculations show that the valence band maximum (VBM) and conduction band minimum (CBM) are located at Z resulting in a direct energy gap. We present calculations of the frequency-dependent complex dielectric function ε( ω) and its zero-frequency limit ε₁ ( 0 ). We find that the values of ε₁ ( 0 ) increases with decreasing the energy gap. The reflectivity spectra and absorption coefficient has been calculated and compared with the available experimental data. The optical properties are analyzed and the origin of some of the peaks in the spectra is discussed in terms of the calculated electronic structure.     

Third-order elastic moduli of single-layer graphene

In the framework of the Keating model with allowance made for the anharmonic constant of the central interaction between the nearest neighbors μ, analytical expressions have been obtained for three third-order independent elastic constants c _ijk (μ, ζ) of single-layer graphene, where ζ = (2α − β)/(4α + β) is the Kleinman internal displacement parameter and α and β are the harmonic constants of the central interaction between the nearest neighbors and the noncentral interaction between the next-nearest neighbors, respectively. The dependences of the second-order elastic constants on the pressure p have been determined. It has been shown that the moduli c ₁₁ and c ₂₂ differently respond to the pressure. Therefore, graphene is isotropic in the harmonic approximation, whereas the inclusion of anharmonicity leads to the appearance of the anisotropy.     

Transport and dielectric properties of thin polycrystalline CoO films

Transport and dielectric properties of polycrystalline CoO films were studied as functions of the applied field, frequency and temperature. TheI–V plots showed that the Poole-Frenkel field emission mechanism is responsible for conduction at fields>10⁵ V/cm. The ac conductivity σ(ω), the imaginary part of the dielectric constantε ₂, and tan δ plots as functions of frequency revealed three dispersion regions. The σ(ω) andε ₂ frequency dependence indicates a non-adiabatic hopping of charge carriers at low frequencies and adiabatic hopping at high frequencies. The activation energy of a dielectric oscillator is 0.15 eV. Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.     

A. C. behaviour and dielectric relaxation in indium oxide films

Vacuum deposited blackish indium oxide films (In-O) as well as the oxidised films (In₂O₃) were studied for their a.c. behaviour at different temperatures and at various film thicknesses in the audio frequency region. ε of In-O films was thickness dependent and also showed dielectric relaxation at lower frequencies due to the dipolar orientation arising from their non-stoichiometric nature. However at liquid nitrogen temperature region ε was thickness independent similar to the oxidised films which neither showed any relaxation effect nor any thickness dependent ε. The results have been discussed from the classical theory of dielectric polarisation.     

Preparation, structural analysis and dielectric properties of Bi x La1−x FeO3 perovskite

Rare earth element substituted bismuth ferrites (BiFeO₃) are of enormous importance as magnetoelectric materials. The polycrystalline samples of Bi _x La_1−x FeO₃ (x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) were prepared by solid-state reaction using standard ceramic method. The single-phase formation of these compounds was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The samples with x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 are found to be orthorhombic while the sample with x=0.8 is triclinic. The dielectric constant (ε′) and dissipation factor (tan δ) were measured in the frequency range 100 Hz to 1 MHz at room temperature and as a function of temperature at certain fixed frequencies (1 kHz, 10 kHz, 100 kHz, 1 MHz). All the samples showed dielectric dispersion. The dielectric constant with temperature shows a broad peak; the peak temperature shifts with frequency which reflects the relaxor-type behavior. The peak above 600 K in the measured temperature range corresponds to antiferromagnetic ordering temperature (Néel temperature). The broadness of the peak changes with composition. The ac conductivity as well as ε′ are found to be maximum for the sample x=0.2 at room temperature.     

Electrical conductivity and dielectric constant of A-type Nd2O3

The measurements of electrical conductivity (σ) from 300 to 1200 K and dielectric constant (ε′) from 4·2 to 1200 K of A-type Nd₂O₂ pellets are reported here. Electrical conductivity (σ) data can be explained in terms of impurity. The dielectric constant (ε′) increases slowly up to 500 K as is expected for ionic solids. The increase ofε′ becomes much faster above 500 K, which is attributed to space charge polarization of thermally generated charge carriers.     

Lattice dynamics,third order elastic constants and thermal expansion of Cadmium

The lattice dynamics, second and third order elastic constants, pressure derivatives of the second order elastic constants and the temperature variation of the lattice thermal expansion of Cadmium have been worked out utilising Keating's approach. The ten TOE constants are calculated using four anharmonic parameters. The model used here reproduces the measured pressure derivatives of the SOE constants of Cadmium extremely well. The low temperature limit of the volume Gruneisen function γ_L is found to be nearer to the value of Andres. The high temperature limit γ_v(T) is in good agreement with the value calculated by Gschneidner Jr. from the Cv data for Cadmium. The lattice dynamics of Cadmium is found to be essentially similar to that of Zinc.     

Effect of illumination on a dielectric nonlinearity in Cr-doped SBN-75 single crystal

The dielectric nonlinearity in an SBN-75 single crystal doped with 0.01 at % Cr was investigated in the vicinity of a diffuse phase transition by studying the reverse dielectric dependences ε′(E ₌). The influence of illumination and exposure (aging) on the behavior of ε′(E ₌) was demonstrated. A reduction in the dielectric memory effect after sample illumination was detected.     

The phase diagram of (NH4I)x(KI)1−x

The χ,T phase diagram of (NH₄I)_x(KI)_1−x has been determined using neutron diffraction experiments and dielectric spectroscopy. At low temperatures and with decreasing χ, the sequence γ, β, ε and glass phase has been detected. The critical concentration χ_c≈0.55 separates the glassy phase with frozen-in orientational disorder from the ε phase which reveals long-range orientational order. Close to χ_c our experiments reveal evidence for two subsequent glass transitions.