Anomalously high low-frequency effective permittivity in a system of metal nanoislands

The low-frequency effective permittivity in a system of Co, W, and FeNi metal nanoislands in an electric field is investigated. The permittivity of films is determined from analyzing the dependences of the susceptance of the films on the temperature and the electric field. It is found that the effective permittivity of the structures under investigation has an anomalously high positive value (10⁷–10⁸) and that an increase in the electric field leads to a decrease in the effective permittivity and an increase in the electrical conductivity of the films. The nature of the high effective permittivity of the structures is governed by the island structure of the metal films and associated with the polarization of dipoles formed by pairs of negatively and positively charged metal nanoislands.