ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
Macroscopic Approach
Isotropic and Anisotropic materials
In materials science, a material in which the properties are independent of the
direction is referred to as Isotropic. That is, the properties of that material are identical in all
directions. Metals, alloys and glass are few materials that exhibit isotropy.
On the other hand, Anisotropic means the properties of a material are directional
dependent and a majority of the materials falls under this category. Wood is a prime example
of an anisotropic material.

The relationship between Displacement (D) and Electric Fields (E)

For homogeneous, isotropic, non-dispersive, linear materials,
(1)
Where; D: Electric Displacement Field, Equivalent to Electric flux density (Cm-2)
E: Electric Field Strength (Vm-2)
ε: Permittivity of the material (for free space ε = ε0 = 8.854 × 10-12 Fm-1)

Electric Dipole Moment (µ)

Electric dipole moment, in general, is a measure of the polarity of a charge system.
When two point charges of equal magnitude, q, and opposite polarity are considered, the
electric dipole moment, µ, is given by,
(2)
Where; d: Displacement vector from the negative charge to the positive charge
µ = qd
-q +q

Figure 1.0: Electric dipole moment

Electric dipole moment is a vector quantity and the SI units are Cm (Coulomb meter).

Electric Polarization (Polarization Density – P)

Electric Polarization is the total (both induced and permanent) electric dipole moment
per unit volume in a material. It is also a vector quantity and the SI units are Cm-2.

(3)

Where; µi: Electric dipole moment of the ith molecule

V: Volume of the sample of the material
N: Number of molecule inside the sample
 Electric Polarization is a measure of the extent to which the dipoles are aligned with
an applied electric field inside a material and hence, a determining factor of the response of
the material to an applied electric field.
With the constitution of the electric polarization, the electric displacement field can
now be defined as,
(4)
Here, P in the equation can be interpreted as the field induced due to the shifting and
rearranging of the dipoles under the influence of the applied field, E, and D can be viewed as
the field generated by the free chargers.
For homogeneous, linear, isotropic materials, the relationship between P and E is
governed by a linear proportionality.
(5)
Where; χ: electric susceptibility of the medium (a dimensionless constant)
This essentially means that the dipoles instantaneously response to the applied field.
Now, Equations (4) and (5) yield,
(6)

And from Equations (1) and (6),

(7)
Therefore,
(8)
Here, εr is termed as the relative permittivity of the material. This too is a
dimensionless constant.

Charges of a Parallel Plate Capacitor

d d

V V
(a) (b)

Figure 1.1: (a) Surface charges of a parallel plate capacitor with air inside, (b) Surface charges of a
parallel plate capacitor with a dielectric material inside
With air as the dielectric material,

(9)
And,
(10)

Where, A: area of the plate

σ0: Charge density

With a dielectric material inside,

(11)

Therefore,
(12)

From Equations (10) and (12),

(13)

d
Figure 1.2: Surface polarization of the material

The total induced dipole moment inside the dielectric material can be given as,
(14)
Substitution of Equation (9) in (14) yields,

(15)

Where, E: Electric Field Strength inside the capacitor, assuming a uniform field,

Then, the surface polarization, P, is,

(16)

By substitution of Equation (8) in equation (16) above, P can be expressed as,

(17)
 Efree
Einduced

Figure 1.3: Free and induced electric fields inside the capacitor

Microscopic Approach
Electric Polarizability - α
Materials have a propensity to alter their shape, orientation or position, under the
influence of an external electric field, inducing dipole moments inside it. Electric
polarizability of a material simply measures its tendency to be polarized when an external
field is applied. Electric Polarizability, α, is defined as the ratio between the dipole moment
induced in an atom, µ, to the applied electric field, E, using the following equation.
(18)
Note that α is a scalar quantity having the SI units Cm2V-1. If N is the number of
atoms per unit volume, then, electric polarization would become,
(19)

Combining the macroscopic and microscopic equations for electric polarization

[Equations (17) and (19)],

(20)

Internal Field - Ei
In general, the electric field inside the dielectric material is not equal to the applied electric
field. This local electric field, Ei, depends upon the polarization of the material as well.
(21)
Where; Ea: Applied electric field
Ed: Electric field caused by polarization
For isotropic materials,
(22)

Furthermore, for large samples of cubic crystal structures, γ = 1/3,

(23)

Another important thing to notice is that the polarization is caused rather by the local
electric field, not by the applied field. Hence,
(24)
Thus,
(25)

Equation (25) yields,

(26)

Mechanisms of Polarization in Dielectric Materials

Electronic Polarization
Under the influence of an external electric field, electron cloud in an atom is shifted
with respect to the nucleus and as a result, the centre of negative charge would no longer
coincide with the centre of positive charge. This results in an induced electric dipole moment
and thus, the atom is said to be polarized.
This phenomenon occurs in every material and referred to as Electronic Polarization.

QE +Q -Q QE

Q Q R

Figure 1.4: Electronic Polarization in an atom under the influence of an external field

Assuming the atom is perfectly spherical and electrons are homogeneously distributed
in the electron cloud, one can consider the equilibrium of the nucleus of the atom (given in
blue in Figure 1.4). Here, the two charge centers are having an equal and opposite charge, Q,
and are displaced by a distance of x in the presence of the external field.
Considering the nucleus (centre of positive charge),
(27)
Now, since the positive and negative charge centers are displaced, the negative
charges exert an attractive force on the nucleus as well. However, only the charge inside the
sphere with the radius x, would contribute to this force. If the charge distribution is assumed
to be homogenous, then, the charge inside the above mentioned sphere, q, would be,

(28)

Therefore, the force exerted is,

(29)

For equilibrium,
(30)

Equation (30) yields,

(31)

The induced dipole moment, , is,

(32)
Where αe: Electronic Polarizability
This implies,
(33)

From Equations (20) and (33),

(34)

And,
(35)

Ionic Polarization
Materials that experience ionic polarization have internal dipoles inside them but are
arranged in such a manner that the individual dipole moments are cancelled out exactly. In
other words, the net dipole moment inside the material is zero. However, should there be an
external electric field; the ions will be displaced slightly from their original positions creating
an effective dipole moment. Typically, ionic crystals such as NaCl and KCl undergo ionic
polarization.
Given in Figure 1.5; (a), is the normal arrangement of the positive and negative ions
of an ionic crystal, where the two individual, equal and opposite, dipole moments (P0+ and P0)
in horizontal direction cancel each other out. Thus, the net dipole moment inside the material
(in horizontal direction) is zero. However, when there is an external electric field present, the
positive ions move towards the direction of the field, while the negative ions move towards
the opposite direction.

(a)

P0+ P0-

P+ P-

(b)

Figure 1.5: Individual dipole moments in an ionic crystal; (a) Without an applied field, (b) With an applied field

Now, albeit the charge associated with the two dipole moments, P+ and P-, are still
equal, the distances are not. And as the ions producing P+ are separated by a greater distance
than ones producing P-, now, P+ is larger than P-, so a net dipole moment and a polarization
density is created inside the material [Figure 1.5; (b)].
Ionic Polarizability, αi, is defined as,
(36)
And if the number of ions per unit volume in the material is N,
(37)
It is important to know that, typically, αi is considerably higher than αe.

Orientational Polarization
Orientational or dipolar polarization is present in materials having permanent natural
dipoles that are free to rotate. Materials with polar covalent bonds such as alcohol and water
possess such dipoles and hence, witness orientational polarization. When resting in thermal
equilibrium, these dipoles are randomly orientated and the effective dipole moment inside a
given sample of material is zero. However, an external electric field can disturb this
randomness by exerting a torque on each molecule that tries to rotate the molecule in
alignment with the direction of the applied field. Notwithstanding this torque, all the
molecules would not be aligned with the direction of the field entirely as the thermal agitation
still tends to randomize them to a certain degree. Now, however, the material carries a net
dipole moment inside it and therefore, a net polarization as well.
It is worthwhile to know that orientational polarization, Por, is inversely proportional
to the temperature, T. Thus, the relative permittivity, εr, too is temperature dependent.
(38)
 Figure 1.5; (a), illustrates the randomly orientated permanent diploes in the material,
individual dipole moments of which add up to zero along a given directions. (I.e.: The
average polarization is zero).

(a)

τ
a
Pav = 0

(b) (c)

Pav ≠ 0

Figure 1.5: Orientation of permanent dipoles; (a) Without an applied field, (b) With an applied field

As shown in figure 1.5; (c), an applied electric field exerts torques on molecules
inside the material to rotate them in alignment with the applied field. This ends up having the
permanent dipoles aligned with the direction of the applied field (to a certain degree,
depending upon the strength of the field and other factors). Now, however, there exists an
average Polarization density along the direction of the applied field.

Interfacial Polarization
Interfacial polarization occurs from the accumulation of charge at an interface
between two surfaces or boundaries. When an external electric field is applied, some of the
more mobile ions in certain dielectric materials move towards direction of the applied field
and could get accumulated at the interfaces. This pile of ions produces a space charge that
attracts more charges and this process is capable of bringing about an induced dipole moment
inside the material.

Electrodes

(a) (b)

Figure 1.6: Arrangement of ions; (a) Without an applied field, (b) With an applied field
 Figure 1.6 shows the mechanism of interfacial polarization. Mobility of the positive
ions in the structure is far greater than the negative ones hence, they move towards the
negative electrode. However, even these positive ions cannot enter the crystal structure of the
metric electrode so get trapped at the interface between the dielectric material and the
electrode. This positive charge and the negative charge that was left behind in the material
give rise to a dipole moment that contributes to the overall polarization of the medium.
Crystal defects and grain boundaries can also trap charge and cause interfacial polarization.

Total Induced Dipole Moment

The effects of electronic, ionic and orientational polarization can be added up together
to determine the effective dipole moment per molecule as given in Equation (39).

(39)
Interfacial polarization, however, cannot be considered as an average dipole moment
per molecule so should not be added to the above.
Table 1.0 shows how the dielectric constant varies with the method of polarization present in
the material.
Table 1.0: A comparison of Relative Permittivity of materials with different polarization mechanisms

Dominant Type Of Relative Permittivity

Material
Polarization (Static)
Ar(g) Electronic 1.0005
Ar(l) Electronic 1.53
NaCl crystal Ionic 5.9
CsCl crystal Ionic 7.2
Water Orientational 80
Frequency Dependency of the Dielectric Constant
Response of dielectric polarization of a material to an applied electric field is not
instantaneous. Ability of the dipoles to response to an applied electric field depends on,
among other factors, the frequency of the field and this phenomenon accounts for the
frequency dependency of the dielectric constant of materials.
Thermal agitation and the interactions between molecules are two factors, which
randomize the orientations of the dipoles in a dielectric medium, thus, make the response of
the material’s polarization lag behind the applied field.
When the applied field is AC sinusoidal of angular frequency, ω, it can be represented as
(40)
It can be proven that the induced dipole moment, µ, is given by the expression,

(41)
Where,
(42)

And is the polarizability at zero frequency and is the polarizability at frequency ω.

Looking at Equations (41) and (42), it is clear that the induced dipolar moment, µ, and
the applied field, E, are not in phase. Therefore, the polarization vector, and the
applied field are also not in phase.
At lower frequencies, the rate of relaxation, 1/τ, is higher than the frequency of the
applied field ; the diploes respond to the applied field instantaneously.
However, when the frequency of the field is higher than the rate of relaxation, dipoles cannot
follow the field directly. In other words, there is a phase difference between the polarization
vector and the applied electric field. Thus, there is a phase difference, δ, between the
displacement and electrical fields as well.
(43)

Dielectric Polarizability, is connected with the relative permittivity and

therefore, relative permittivity too is considered as a complex function of the angular
frequency, ω.

(44)

Therefore,
(45)

Where,
: Real part of relative permittivity; related to the energy storing
: Imaginary part of relative permittivity; related to the energy loss
 At lower frequencies, the alignment of the dipoles with the applied field is virtually
instantaneous as the rate of relaxation ; where τ is the average relaxation time), is much
larger than the frequency of the applied field. However, at higher frequencies, the frequency
of the field is higher than the rate of relaxation and the dipoles cannot follow the field
directly. Above a certain threshold frequency, the diploes can no longer response to the rate
of change of the applied field thus; the field simply cannot polarize the material.

1/τ ω
Figure 1.7: Relaxation of a dielectric material

Now, let’s consider a dielectric material, which, for the convenience of explanation,
exhibits orientational polarization only. At zero frequency, the real part of the relative
permittivity, is at its maximum [i.e. and ]. As
explain above, remains constant at with the increase of the frequency up until a
certain threshold frequency and then, it gets decreased to unity around that
frequency. The imaginary part of the relative permittivity, also peaks around this
frequency, while it is negligible elsewhere.

Interfacial

Orientational

Ionic
Electronic

Figure 1.8: Variation of the real and imaginary parts of relative permittivity with the frequency of the applied field
 This phenomenon is encountered in other mechanisms of polarization as well and
therefore, frequency dependency of the real and imaginary parts of relative permittivity of a
material showing all four types of polarization is illustrated in Figure 1.8
As described in an earlier section, the real part of relative permittivity represents the
capacitance of the dielectric material while the imaginary part of the relative permittivity
represents energy loss inside the dielectric material. If we consider a parallel plate capacitor,
which comprises a dielectric material with a relative permittivity of at frequency ω, its
admittance is given by,

(46)

(47)

Here, C is the genuine capacitance of the capacitor whereas G is the conductance of

the capacitor. This also can be represented by a parallel combination of an ideal capacitor and
a resistor as shown in Figure 1.9.

Figure 1.9: Equivalent circuit of a capacitor

Furthermore, apparent power associated with this capacitor can be expressed as,
(48)
Where jωCV2: reactive power, the portion stored in the capacitor
V2G: real power, power loss due to the parallel resistor

The ratio of to is defined as the loss tangent [tan (δ)] of the capacitor and since it
directly governs the power loss; it is desirable to have tan δ as low as possible.

(49)