Dielectric

Properties of
Solids
 Insulators
 Some materials like glass, ceramic,
polymers and papers are non-conducting
materials.
 They prevent flow of current through
them.
They provide electrical insulation.
 Dielectric Materials/
DIELECTRICS
The insulating and non-conducting materials when placed in
electric field modifies the electric field and themselves undergo
appreciable change are called dielectrics.
 Energy Band Diagram of
Dielectrics
• The forbidden gap Eg is very large for
dielectric; typically larger than 4 eV.
• Excitation of e- from the normally full valance
band to empty conduction band cannot occurs.
• Conduction cannot occur even when dielectric
contains impurities.
• Resistivity ranges from 1010 to 1020 ohm-m.
 Dielectric Constant
• The ratio of the capacitance of the
given capacitor with the material
filling the entire space between its
plates to the capacitance of
capacitor in vacuum.
• In other words, Dielectric Constant
is the ratio between the
permittivity of the𝜀 medium to the
permittivity of𝜀free
𝑟 = space.
𝜀0
• Its value changes widely from
material to material.
• For vacuum =1 The characteristics of a dielectric
For all other dielectric it is material are determined by the
Ɛr >1. dielectric constant and it has no
units; determines how much the capacitance is
 POLARIZATION OF DIELECRICS
■ When we are applying external electric field, it causes the
electron cloud to move away. Thus the centroids of the
positive and negative charges now no longer coincides and
as a result of that an electric dipole is induced in the atom.
Thus, atom is said to be polarized.

■ Polarization: the process of creating or inducing dipoles in

a dielectric medium by an external field.

■ On the basis on that dielectrics are the material that have

either permanent diploes or induced in the presence of
external electric field .
 Dielectrics
■Non Polar Dielectrics :
There is no permanent dipole
existence in the absence of an electric
field.
■ Centroids of positive and negative
charges of molecules constituting the
dielectric material coincide.
■ Examples :H2, N2, O2, CO 2
■Polar Dielectrics : There is permanent dipole exists
even in the absence of an electric field.
■ Centroids of positive and negative charges of molecules
constituting the dielectric material do not coincide even in
the absence of electric field
 Polarization vector
• Definition: induced dipole moment per unit volume
of dielectric medium.

• P is vector quantity and its direction is along the

direction of applied field. If µ is the average
induced dipole moment per unit molecule and N is
the number of molecule per unit volume then
polarization is given by
P = Nµ
 Polarizability:
The induced dipole moment per unit electric field is called Polarizability.

The induced dipole moment is proportional to the intensity of the electric

field.

𝜇∝ 𝐸
 Electric flux Density (D)
Electric flux density is defined as charge per unit area and it has
same units of dielectric polarization.
Electric flux density D at a point in a free space or air in terms of
Electric field strength is

D0 =𝜀0 E           −−>(1)
At the same point in a medium is given by

D  =𝜀 E           −−>(2)
As the polarization measures the additional flux density arising
from the presence of material as compared to free space

i.e,    D =𝜀0 E +P           −−>(3)

 GAUSS’S LAW OF DIELECRICS

the total flux through a closed surface is ( 1/ε0 )times the

total charge enclosed inside the closed surface.

∫ εr E0.ds = q/εo
Various polarization processes:
When the specimen is placed inside a d.c. electric field,
polarization is due to four types of processes….

1.Electronic polarization
2.Ionic polarization
3.Orientation polarization
4.Interfacial/Space charge polarization
 Electronic Polarization
When an EF is applied to an atom, +vely charged
nucleus displaces in the direction of field and ẽ could in
opposite direction. This kind of displacement will produce an
electric dipole with in the atom.
i.e, dipole moment is proportional to the magnitude of field
strength and is given by

𝝁𝒆 ∞ 𝑬
where ‘αe’ is called electronic Polarizability constant
It increases with increase of volume of the atom.
This kind of polarization is mostly exhibited in Monoatomic
gases.

He Ne Ar Kr Xe

0.18 0.35 1.46 2.18 3.54

It occurs only at optical frequencies (1015Hz)

It is independent of temperature.
 Expression for Electronic
Polarization
Consider a atom in an EF of intensity ‘E’. Since the nucleus (+ze)
and electron cloud (-ze) of the atom have opposite charges and
acted upon by Lorentz force (FL).

Subsequently nucleus moves in the direction of field and electron

cloud in opposite direction.

When electron cloud and nucleus get shifted from their normal
positions, an attractive force b/w them is created and the
separation continuous until columbic force FC is balanced with
Lorentz force FL, Finally a new equilibriums state is established.
 The charge density 
 of the electrons then is

In an Electric Field (E), the positive charge in the nucleus and the center of the
negative charges from the electron "cloud" will thus experience forces in different
direction and will become separated.
In an electrical field E a force F1 acts on charges given by

For our problem, the attractive force F2 thus is given by

Figure represents displacement
of nucleus and electron cloud
q(Nucleus) = ze
and we assume that the –ve
charge in the cloud uniformly
distributed over a sphere of
radius R and the spherical shape
q(e in d) = the fraction of the charge of the electrons contained in the sphere with
radius d, which is just the relation of the volume of the sphere with radius d to
the total volume
 Balancing these two forces

𝑭 𝟏= 𝑭 𝟐
𝟑
∴ 𝜶 𝒆=𝟒 𝝅 𝜺 𝟎 𝑹
Hence electronic Polaris ability is directly proportional to cube of the
radius of the atom.
 Ionic polarization
 The ionic polarization occurs, when atoms form molecules displace and it
is mainly due to a relative displacement of the atomic components of the
molecule in the presence of an electric field.

 When a EF is applied to the molecule, the positive ions displaced by X1 to

the negative side electric field and negative ions displaced by X2 to the
positive side of field.

 The resultant dipole moment µ = q ( X1 + X2)

 Electric field
+ _
+ _
+ anion _
cation
+ _

𝒙𝟏 𝒙𝟐
+
_
+ _
+ _
+ _
 Restoring force constant depend upon the mass of the ion
and natural frequency and is given by

𝟐
𝑭=𝒆𝑬=𝒎.𝒘 𝒙 𝟎
Where ‘M’ mass of anion and ‘m’ is mass of cation
 [ ]
𝟐
𝒆𝑬𝟏 𝟏
∴   𝝁𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 = e(𝒙𝟏 +𝒙𝟐)= 𝟐 +
𝒘𝟎 𝒎 𝑴
This polarization occurs at frequency 1013 Hz
(IR).
It is a slower process compared to electronic
polarization.
It is independent of temperature.
 Orientation Polarization
It is also called dipolar or molecular polarization. The
molecules such as H2 , N2,O2,Cl2 ,CH4,CCl4 etc., does not
carry any dipole because center of positive charge and
center of negative charge coincides. On the other hand
molecules like CH3Cl, H2O,HCl, ethyl acetate (polar
molecules) carries dipoles even in the absence of electric
field.

How ever the net dipole moment is negligibly small since all
the molecular dipoles are oriented randomly when there is
no EF. In the presence of the electric field these all dipoles
 It occurs at a frequency 106 Hz to 1010Hz.
 It is slow process compare to ionic polarization.
 It greatly depends on temperature.
 Expression for orientation polarization

𝟐
𝝁 𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆
𝜶 𝒐=
𝟑 𝒌𝑻
This is called Langevin – Debye equation for total Polarizability in
dielectrics.
 POLARIZATION MECHANISMS
Interfacial:
charge accumulation at defective interfaces (2 material
or 2 regions of same material) leads to the formation of
a net polarization vector

E lectro de E lectrod e
D ielectric
E E

F ix ed charge A ccum u lated charge G rain bou nd ary or interface

M o bile charge
(a) (b) (c)

(a) A crystal with equal number of mobile positive ions and fixed negative
ions. In the basence of a field there is no net separation between all the
 Dielectric Loss
Background:
-
Dielectric medium under alternating field
E
Polarization will be different than the static case
p0
Example: orientational (dipolar) polarization, +
• Varying field changes magnitude and direction
continuously, and it tries to line up the dipoles one
way and then the other way and so on
• If the instantaneous induced dipole moment p per
molecule can instantaneously follow the field
variations, then at any instant

and the polarizability aj has its expected maximum value from dc conditions,
that is,
 DIELECTRIC LOSS
The dielectric constant is frequency dependent … why ?

The polarization process is not instantaneous … i.e. it

takes a finite amount of time for the molecules to
align themselves.

If the applied field is changing so fast that the

molecules cannot respond to it at all … then the
polarization is … zero!

Therefore ε is frequency dependent …

ε r ε r'  j ε r' '

 Local/ Internal Field in Solids
• When dielectric material is placed in the external electric
field, it is polarized; creating electric dipoles.
• Each dipole sets electric field in the vicinity. Hence the
net electric field at any point within the dielectric
material is given by “The sum of external field (applied
field) and the field due to all dipoles surrounding that
point”.
• This net field is called internal field or Local field.
 Derivation of local field in Solids
• Consider a dipole with charges ‘+q’ and ‘-q’
separated by a small distance ‘dx’.
• The dipole moment is given by µ = qdx.
• Consider a point ‘P’ at a distance ‘r’ from
the center of dipole.
• The Radial Component electric field at the
point ‘P’ is given by

• The Tangential component or Transverse

component perpendicular to the Radial
component is given by
Field Components due to dipoles
 Derivation of local field in Solids
• Let us find the local field at ‘X’ due all dipoles E
in the array.
• The field at ‘X’ due to dipole ‘A’ is given by
EXA = Er + Eθ
Here, r = -a and θ = 180 ͦ

Linear array of dipoles in an electric fie

he field at ‘X’ due to dipole ‘B’ is given by EXB = Er + Hence

Eθ the total field at ‘X’ due to
Here, r = a and θ = 0 ͦ equidistant dipoles ‘A’ and ‘B’ is given
by
𝑬𝟏 =𝑬 𝑿𝑨 + 𝑬 𝑿𝑩
Derivation of local field in Solids
• The total Field at ‘X’ due to equidistant dipoles ‘C’ and
‘D’ is given by

• Similarly the total Field at ‘X’ due to equidistant dipoles

‘E’ and ‘F’ is given by

• Similarly the total Field at ‘X’ due to next equidistant

dipoles is given by
 Derivation of local field in Solids
• The net field at ‘X’ due to all dipoles in the array is given by

Therefore, the local field at X is given by

 Derivation of local field in Solids
• In 3-dimensions, the last equation can be generalized by replacing 1/a3 by ‘N’
(where ‘N’ is the number of atoms per unit volume) and 1.2/π by γ (where γ is
called Internal Field Constant).
𝜸𝑵𝜶𝑬 𝜸𝑷
𝑬 𝒊= 𝑬+ =𝑬 + ; 𝑷= 𝑵 𝜶 𝑬=𝑷𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
𝜺𝟎 𝜺𝟎

Since γ, P and ε0 are positive quantities, Ei >

E.
• For a Cubic Lattice γ = 1/3 and the Local field is called Lorentz
field, It is given by
𝑷
𝑬 𝑳 =𝑬 +
𝟑 𝜺𝟎
 Clausius-Mosotti Relation
• In the presence of electronic, ionic and dipolar polarization
mechanisms, the average induced dipole moment per molecule Pav will
be the sum of all the contributions in terms of the local field (effective
field) acting on each individual molecule.

Here, αe, αi , αd are the electronic, ionic and dipolar polarizabilities. Eloc
is the local field.
If the material does not posses permanent dipoles, the ionic and
orientation polarizabilities are zero. Hence the polarization P is given by
)
𝑵 𝜶𝒆 𝑬
𝑷= … … … … … …(𝟏)
𝑵 𝜶𝒆
𝟏−
𝟑 𝜺𝟎
 Clausius-Mosotti Relation
The polarization is related to the applied field strength as
given below

𝑵 𝜶𝒆 𝑬
Using equation (1) and (2) 𝑷= = 𝜺𝟎 ( 𝜺 𝒓 −𝟏 ) 𝑬
𝑵 𝜶𝒆
𝟏−
𝟑 𝜺𝟎
𝑵 𝜶 𝒆 ( 𝜺 𝒓 −𝟏 )
After rearranging; = This is called Clausis-Mosotti
𝟑 𝜺𝟎 ( 𝜺 𝒓 +𝟐 ) relation.
Using the above relation if the value of dielectric constant of
the material is known then the electronic polarizability can be
determined.