Polarization of dielectrics

By prof. Deshpande P.S.

Curie-Weiss Law
 The electrical properties of ferroelectric substances are investigated and
related to the Curie-Weiss law.
 The Curie is a radioactivity measurement unit. Curie has a
value of 3.7 x 1010 per second.
 The Curie point and temperature are likewise derived
from the Curie. The extreme temperature at which
magnets alter their magnetic characteristics is known as
the Curie temperature.
 Curie-Weiss Law refers to one of the most important laws
in the field of electromagnetism. It states that the
magnetic susceptibility of a material above a specific
temperature (also known as the Curie Temperature),
becomes ferromagnetic
Pyro electric
 An electric reaction of a polar dielectric to a change in temperature is known as
pyroelectric material.
 When an electric field is applied, ferroelectric materials undergo reversible
spontaneous polarization, which is only present in pyroelectric materials when there is
no electric field. As a result, piezoelectricity exists in all pyroelectric materials.
 A certain type of piezoelectric crystal found in the piezoelectric materials prevents
pyroelectricity. As a result, the pyroelectric effect occurs below the 1070°F curie
temperature; as a result, when the material is heated above this temperature, the
atoms return to their equilibrium locations. As a result, the electrocaloric effect is
viewed as the pyroelectric effect's physical opposite.
 The following is a list of some of the pyroelectric materials: Lithium tantalite,
Polyvinyl fluorides, Gallium nitride, Tourmaline.
 COMPARISON
Parameters Piezoelectric Pyroelectric Ferroelectric
Ferroelectric material
Piezoelectric materials Pyroelectric material
exhibits electric
generate electricity generates electric
Function polarization even in the
whenever mechanical potential whenever heated
absence of an electric
stress is applied. or cooled.
field.
Quartz, Quartz crystal,
Examples Lithium niobite,
crystal,Ammonium, Ammonium,
  Barium Titanite
Phosphate Phosphate.
Non-centrosymmetric, They are unidirectional They are easily polarized,
Non-polar dielectric, polarization, They exhibit dielectric
Properties Presence of non-centrosymmetric, hysteresis,
Piezoelectric effect It exhibits pyroelectricity They are both pyro and
where P= dσ. when T >= Tc piezoelectric in nature.

Ultrasonic transducers
Acts like a transducer, IR detectors, They are pressure
Used in microphones, Image tubes, transducer
Applications
It generates  Temperature sensing It acts as a memory
ultrasonic waves. elements.  device like a random
access memory.
Dielectric loss
 The Loss of energy involved in heating a Dielectric material in an assorted
electric domain is called Dielectric Loss.
 For instance, a capacitor assimilated in an alternating-current circuit is
barely charged and discharged each half cycle.
 Most importantly, Dielectric Losses generally are based on the frequency and
the Dielectric material. 
 Dielectric Loss is measured utilising what is referred to as the Loss tangent or
tan delta (tan δ). In layman’s language, tan delta is the tangent of the angle
between the alternating field vector and the material’s Loss component. So,
the higher the value of tan δ the significant the Dielectric Loss should be.
 Dielectrics are often used in all of these environments to mechanically support
electrical conductors and keep them at a fixed separation, or to provide a barrier
between different gas pressures yet still transmit electromagnetic power.
 Maxwell’s equations are solved for the electric and magnetic field components of the
propagating waves that satisfy the boundary conditions of the specific environment's
geometry.
 In such electromagnetic analyses, the parameters permittivity ε, permeability μ, and
conductivity σ represent the properties of the media through which the waves
propagate. The permittivity can have real and imaginary components (the latter
excluding σ effects, see below) such that

assume that we have a wave function

Maxwell's curl equation for the magnetic field 

 where ε′′ is the imaginary component of permittivity attributed to bound
charge and dipole relaxation phenomena, which gives rise to energy loss that
is indistinguishable from the loss due to the free charge conduction that is
quantified by σ.
 The component ε′ represents the familiar lossless permittivity given by the
product of the free space permittivity and the relative real/absolute
permittivity, or ε′ = ε0ε′r.
 The loss tangent is then defined as the ratio (or angle in a complex plane) of
the lossy reaction to the electric field E in the curl equation to the lossless
reaction:

 For dielectrics with small loss, this angle is ≪ 1 and tan δ ≈ 0.
 The electric loss tangent can be similarly defined
Breakdown in dielectrics
 Dielectric breakdown occurs when electrical potential across a material exceeds
the dielectric strength of the material, resulting in partial ionization. If
breakdown occurs in a gas, the ionization sharply reduces the electrical
insulation properties of the gas, resulting in a spark or arc.
 Depending on the mechanisms involved, there are several types of solid
dielectric breakdowns, including electrical breakdown, thermal breakdown,
electromechanical breakdown, electrochemical breakdown, and erosion
breakdown (electrical treeing breakdown).
Breakdown in dielectrics
 At high electric fields, a material that is normally an electrical insulator may
begin to conduct electricity – i.e. it ceases to act as a dielectric. This
phenomenon is known as dielectric breakdown.
 The mechanism behind dielectric breakdown can best be understood using band theory.
 Essentially there are two "bands" in every material which the electrons within
the material may occupy - the valence band and the higher-energy conduction
band. Electrons in the valence band can be considered as being bound in
place, whereas electrons in the conduction band may act as mobile charge
carriers.
 The phenomenon of dielectric breakdown is utilized in cigarette lighters and
similar devices where a spark must be produced in order to ignite the fuel.
The “spark gap” is a small air gap between two electrodes.
 Charge is built up on the electrodes on either side of the spark gap until the
strength of the field across the spark gap exceeds the dielectric strength of
air.
 The situation where the distance between the ions increases by d; the
symmetrical situation, where the distance decreases by d, is obvious.
Ionic polarization
 The lattice can be considered to consist of Na+ - Cl– dipoles as shown below.
 The polarization of a given volume, however, is exactly zero because for every
dipole moment there is a neighboring one with exactly the same magnitude, but
opposite sign.
 Note that the dipoles can not rotate; their direction is fixed.
 In an electric field, the ions feel forces in opposite directions
 The Na+ ions moved a bit to the right, the Cl– ions to the left.
 The dipole moments between adjacent NaCl - pairs in field direction are now
different and there is a net dipole moment in a finite volume now.