Physics of Electronic Materials

Course Code: NANENG307

Lecture 3
Polarization and Dielectric
Dr. Shaimaa Ali

[email protected]
Spring 24

Reference: Kasap 4th addition, Chapter 7, page 659

LOCAL FIELD Eloc AND CLAUSIUS–MOSSOTTI EQUATION

The electric field inside a polarized

dielectric at the atomic scale is not
uniform. The local field is the actual field
that acts on a molecule. It can be
calculated by removing that molecule and
evaluating the field at that point from the
charges on the plates and the dipoles
surrounding the point.
Local Field and Lorentz Equation
the local field Eloc acting on a molecule increases with polarization as
 Electronic Polarization: Covalent Solids

Shift in the valance bond is much more significant than the unbonded atom under the presence of the field.
It require 1–2 eV to break a covalent bond to free the valence electron, but it takes more than 10 eV to free
an electron from an individual ionic Si core is responsible for the large dielectric constants of covalent
crystals. For example εr = 11.9 for the Si crystal and εr = 16 for the Ge crystal.

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
 Polarization Mechanisms

 Electronic Polarization
 Ionic Polarization
 Orientational Polarization
 Interfacial Polarization
 This type of polarization occurs in ionic crystals
Ionic Polarization such as NaCl, KCl, and LiBr. The ionic crystal
p+ p- has distinctly identifiable ions, for example, Na+
and Cl-, located at well-defined lattice sites, so
(a ) x each pair of oppositely charged neighboring ions
has a dipole moment.
ClÐ N a+ In the presence of a field E

p '+ p'-

(b )

Generally, αi is larger than the electronic polarizability αe by a

factor of 10 or more, which leads to ionic solids having large This polarization occurs at a frequency
dielectric constants. The polarization P exhibited by the ionic of 1013 Hz (IR). It is a slower process
solid is therefore given by compared to electronic polarization. It
is independent of temperature.
From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
 Orientational (dipolar) Polarization
permanent dipole moments
The net dipole moment is negligibly small since all
the molecular dipoles are randomly oriented when
no EF exists. In the presence of the electric field,
these dipoles orient themselves in the direction of
the field, as a result, the net dipole moment
becomes enormous.
The molecule experiences a torque τ about its
center of mass and tends to rotate the molecule.

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
 Interfacial Polarization
Interfacial polarization occurs whenever there is an accumulation of charge at an
interface between two materials or between two regions within a material.

(a) In the absence of a field, there is no net separation between all the positive charges and all the negative charges. (b) In the
presence of an applied field, the mobile positive ions migrate toward the negative electrode and accumulate
there. The dielectric therefore exhibits interfacial polarization. (c) Grain boundaries and interfaces between different
materials frequently give rise to interfacial polarization. In this simple example, electrons and holes within
grains drift and become trapped at the grain boundaries. (d) Positive and negative ions within a grain boundary
can jump to neighboring vacant sites, aided by the field, and thereby form dipoles within the grain boundary

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
TOTAL POLARIZATION
Frequency Dependence Dielectric Constant & Dielectric

p=αE d

The relaxation time

t → ∞.
p - αd(0)E.
The rate at which the
induced dipole moment is changing is then -[p - αd(0)E]∕τ
We can easily find the energy per
unit time—power—dissipated as dielectric loss in the
medium I2R

1
𝐺𝑝
Since
DEBYE EQUATIONS, COLE–COLE
PLOTS,
AND EQUIVALENT
Consider SERIES C
a dipolar dielectric inIRCUIT
which there are both orientation and electronic
polarizations, αd and αe, respectively, contributing to the overall polarizability
αe will be independent of frequency
At high frequencies αd = 0 and εr will be εr= ∞

1 and αe terms to represent the high frequency εr as εr∞.Further Nαd(0)∕εo determines the contribution of
orientational polarization to the static dielectric constant εrdc, so that Nαd(0)∕εo is simply (εrdc - εr∞).
 Peter Debye (1884–1966) received the
1936 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The dielectric strength Ebr is the maximum field that can be applied to an
insulating medium without causing dielectric breakdown. The dielectric
strength of solids depends on a number of factors :
 the molecular structure
 Type of impurities
 Microstructure defects
 Sample Geometry
 Nature of the Electrode
 Environmental condition
 Dust presence
 Aging
 Duration of the applied field
 Frequency
 The thickness of the insulator
From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
Breakdown Mechanisms
Intrinsic breakdown (Avalanche of the impact ionization )
If the field is sufficiently large, then one of these electrons can be accelerated to sufficiently large kinetic energies to
impact ionize a neutral gas molecule and produce an additional free electrons and positively charged ions. first and
liberated electrons are now available to accelerate in the field again and further impact ionize more neutral gas molecules.
Thermal breakdown
Electrochemical break down
A dielectric medium between oppositely charged electrodes experiences compressional forces because the opposite
charges +Q and −Q on the plates attract each other . As the voltage increases, so does the compressive load, and the
dielectric becomes squeezed, or the thickness d gets smaller
External discharge
These are partial discharges that take place in microstructural voids, cracks, or pores within the dielectric where the gas
atmosphere (usually air) has lower dielectric strength
 Aging

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
A partial discharge occurs when only a local region of the dielectric is exhibiting
discharge, so the discharge does not directly connect the two electrodes (corona
discharge.

Partial discharges in these voids physically and chemically erode the surrounding
dielectric region and lead to an overall deterioration of the dielectric strength. If
uncontrolled, they can eventually give rise to a major breakdown.
DIELECTRIC BREAKDOWN: LIQUIDS
impure liquids with small conductive particles in suspension these impurities coalesce end
to end to form a conducting bridge between the electrodes and thereby give rise to
discharge. the discharge initiates as partial discharges in gas bubbles entrapped
in the liquid. These partial discharges can locally raise the temperature and vaporize
more of the liquid and hence increase the size of the bubble.
 Capacitor Dielectric Material
The selection criteria of dielectric materials for capacitors
depend on the:

 Capacitance value
 Frequency of application
 Maximum tolerable loss
 Maximum working voltage
 Size
 Cost

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
 Dielectric Comparison:
- The capacitance per unit volume Cvol

- Operational or Working Voltage

- The maximum energy that can be stored per unit volume

- Temperature Coefficient of Capacitance defined as the fractional (or

percentage) change in the capacitance per unit temperature change
From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
 Different Type of Capacitors
1. Thin layer Ceramic Capacitor
M e ta l te r m i n a t io n

Epoxy
C era m ic

L ead s

M e ta l e l e c t ro d e

(a) Single layer ceramic capacitor (b) Multilayer ceramic capacitor

(e.g. disk capacitors) (stacked ceramic layers)
Single and multilayer dielectric capacitors

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
 2. Polymeric Thin Films Capacitor

- wide-frequency-range capacitors
- εr is typically 2–3 which mean that
one has to find a space-efficient way
of constructing polymer film
capacitors

Two polymeric tapes have metallized

electrodes on one surface, leaving a
margin on one side. The two tapes
together are rolled up (like a Swiss-roll
cake) and the opposite sides are
electrode using suitable conducting
glues or other means

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
 3. Electrolytic Capacitor provide large values of capacitance while maintaining a
tolerable size
electrolytic capacitors, the metal
electrodes are two Al foils, typically
E le c tro ly te 50–100 μm thick, that are separated
A l2 O 3 by a porous paper medium soaked
A l fo ils A node C a th o d e with a liquid electrolyte. The two foils
together are wound into a cylindrical
Al Al form and held within a cylindrical
case.
The dielectric medium is the thin
A l case
alumina Al2O3 layer grows on
the roughened surface of one of the
foils (0.1 um). Both Al foils are
(a) (b) etched to obtain rough surfaces,
which increases the surface area
compared with a smooth surface
From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
4. Solid electrolyte tantalum capacitors
The anode (+ electrode) is a porous
(sintered) Ta pellet that has the surface
anodized to obtain a thin surface layer of
tantalum pentoxide, Ta2O5, which is the
dielectric medium (with εr′ = 28). Ta2O5
is then coated with a thick solid
electrolyte, in this case MnO2.
Subsequently, graphite and silver paste
layers are applied. Leads are then
attached and the whole construction is
molded into a resin chip.

- Small Size
- Temperature stability
- Long time stability
- High Reliability

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
Supercapacitors or Ultracapacitors
Supercapacitors or ultracapacitors are capacitors with large capacitance values that can be
as high as 100 F or more; but with low breakdown voltages, typically a few volts. They store
much more energy than conventional electrolytic capacitors per unit volume and essentially
function almost like a rechargeable battery for storing and providing energy for various
electrical applications. Their principle depends on two factors: increasing the area A and
decreasing the thickness d in the capacitance equation C = εrεoA∕d to reach higher capacitance
values.

In the electrical double-layer capacitance (EDLC), the electrodes are powdered carbon (or
a similar porous conducting medium), which are separated by an ion-permeable separator
soaked in an electrolyte in which there are mobile positive and negative ions. The electrolyte
could be an aqueous solution with H+ and SO4- ions, for example. Under an applied voltage,
each electrode becomes polarized somewhat similar to the interfacial polarization at the
negative electrode in Figure 7.11b, giving rise to a capacitance at each electrode;
 Capacitor Dielectric Material

The selection criteria of dielectric materials for capacitors depend on the capacitance value, frequency of application,
maximum tolerable loss, and maximum working voltage, with size and cost being additional external constraints

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018
From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4 th Edition by S. O. Kasap Copyright © 2018