Physics of Electronic Materials

Course Code: NANENG307

Lecture 2
Polarization and Dielectric
Dr. Shaimaa Ali

[email protected]
Spring 24
Reference: Kasap 4th addition, Chapter 7, page 659
The electric field can induce a dipole in the insulator, where electrons are tightly bound to
the atom, or molecule, unlike a conductor where electrons are freely moving.

Nucleus Displaced
Nucleus Equilibrium
position This result in an
induced dipole
moments and
we call this
Polarization
x
Sphere of electronic +Ze -Ze Field direction
charge
Original Position

Fig. (a) Position of +ve and –ve charges in an atom without field (b) Position
of +ve and –ve charges in an atom with field

A material which do this is called Dielectric Material

Ex: Mica, glass, plastic, water & polar molecules

FROM RINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
Suppose we have two plane capacitors, Which I charged to a certain Where σ is the surface Charge density
potential and I have +σ on one plate and –σ on the other. It has an area permittivity of free space
of A. If you remove the field and insert a dielectric layer, you will see
+ve and –ve induced charges on the opposite sides, producing a field
in the opposite direction.

𝜎 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝜎 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑
𝐸 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 = 𝐸 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 =
𝜀𝑜 𝜀𝑜

 The electric field will drop down with a

value of (Dielectric constant)
 The potential difference will also be down
because V= E. d
What will happen to the Capacitance?

The familiar parallel plate capacitor equation with free space as an dipole
insulator is given by:
+
Electric field _
C (1) _
+
+ _
Where εo is the absolute permittivity, A is the plate area, and d is the
separation between the plates _
+ +

If there is a material medium between the plates, then the capacitance, the + _
charge storage ability per unit voltage, increases by a factor of εr, where εr is
+ _
called the Dielectric constant Or Relative permittivity _
+
C (1) + _
Dielectric


The ability of the material to store charge. r 
0
FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
 What will happen in the following cases?
Experiment no (I):

I. Start 1mm distance between the plates of the capacitor and

apply a potential difference of V= 1500 Volt. Then disconnect
the power supply……
A
Charge is trapped
b) So now increase the distance between the plate to 7mm.
What will happen?

d=7mm

Q: Will not change V:

E: Will not change
By factor of 7
10kV

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
Experiment no (II):
II. Insert a dielectric material (K=5 for glass), Use V=10 KV , d=7mm and disconnect the power
supply. What will happen to the capacitance?

Q= will not change

E=

V=?

C=?

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
Experiment no (III): V0 = constant when battery remains connected

V=1500 Volt d=1mm

Upon inserting a dielectric free charge on plates increase

1) Now increase d to 7mm. What will happen?

2: Insert Dielectric material
V= remain fixed V= remain fixed
d: increase …….E decrease C: Increase
C= decrease Q: increase
E: will not change
Q: decrease
Fundamental Definitions and Properties Electric Dipole

 A system consisting of two equal and opposite charges n(+q, -q)

separated by a distance (d) is called an electric dipole.

DIPOLE MOMENT (p)

• The product of the magnitude of the charge (q) and the distance between
two charges (d) is called the dipole moment.
• Dipole moment p = qd (coulomb-metre)
Fundamental Definitions And Properties Electric Dipole

PERMITTIVITY (ε)
• The permittivity represents the dielectric property of a medium. It indicates the easily
polarizable nature of the material. Its unit is farad/meter

DIELECTRIC CONSTANT (εr )

• A dielectric characteristic of a material is determined by its dielectric constant. It is a
measure of the polarization of the dielectrics.

Definition
• It is the ratio between the permittivity of the medium (ε) and the permittivity of free space
(εo).
Dielectric constant = permittivity of the materials (ε) / Permittivity of free space (ε o )
εr = ε / ε o
Fundamental Definitions And Properties Electric Dipole

POLARIZATION
Definition
• The process of producing electric dipoles inside the dielectric by the application of an
external electrical field is called polarization in dielectrics.

POLARISABILITY (α)
It is found that the average dipole moment field (E).

P(induced dipole moment) = α E

Where (α) is the polarizability α = p / E

Polarizability is defined as the ratio of the average dipole moment to the electrical field
applied. Its unit is Farad m
Understanding Dielectric
 Solids that have an energy gap of 3eV or more are termed insulators
 In these materials, it is almost not possible to excite the electrons from the valence band
to the conduction band by an applied field
 Generally, dielectrics are also called insulators, thereby poor conductors of electricity.
 Insulation resistance will be affected by moisture, temperature, applied electric field,
and age of dielectrics
 Dielectric materials: such as glass, mica, rubber, wood, and paper.

 The difference between a dielectric and an insulator lies in their applications. If the
main function of non-conducting material is to provide electrical insulation, then they
are called insulators. On the other hand, if the main function of non-conducting material
is to store electrical charges then they are called dielectrics.
Understanding Dielectric

 In contrast to conductors, dielectrics have no free charges that can move through the
material under the influence of an electric field. All electrons are bounded. Positive
and negative charges can move in the opposite direction with a small displacement of
atomic dimensions.
 A dielectric in which this charge displacement has taken place is said to be polarized,
and its molecules are said to possess induced dipole moments. These dipoles produce
their field, which adds to that of the external charge. The dipole field and the externally
applied field can be comparable in magnitude.

 The applied electric field also tends to orient molecular dipole moments, so that the
dipoles are aligned with the external field. However, the thermal motions of molecules
tend to destroy this alignment. An equilibrium polarization is thus established, in which
there is a net alignment, on average.
 Molecular View of Dielectrics
Polar Dielectrics : Dielectrics with permanent
electric dipole moments
Non-Polar Dielectrics
Example: Water
Dielectrics with induced electric
dipole moments Example: CH4
 Electronic Polarization
An electrical dipole moment is simply a separation between a negative
and positive charge of equal magnitude Q . If a is the vector from the
negative to the positive charge, the electric dipole moment is defined as
a vector by

The definition of electric dipole momen

This separation of negative and positive charges and the resulting induced
dipole moment are termed polarization

The induced dipole moment depends on the electric field causing it. We define a quantity called the
polarizability α to relate the induced dipole moment p to the field E causing it

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
When we form these charges, the net charges are still zero but we set an electric field. There are
different mechanisms by which polarization occurs. The electrons are much repelled by the field than
the nucleus but As the electrons are “pushed” away by the applied field, the Coulombic attraction
between the electrons and nuclear charge “pulls in” the electrons; and tries to restore the electrons
cloud to their original position.
The force on the electrons, due to E, trying to separate them away from the nuclear charge Pe= ZeE
the Coulombic restoring force Fr = -βx //where β is a constant
Equating these two forces:

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
 Therefore, the magnitude of the induced electronic dipole moment pe is given by
substitute for x

As expected Pe is proportional to the applied field Valid under static condition

d.c. electronic polarization

to find β by assuming that the negative charge Ze is uniformly distributed within the atomic
radius ro. We can then calculate the electric field E at x from center of negative charge C. The
force ZeEr on the nucleus would be pulling the nucleus toward C, which is the same force that
pulls the negative charge center C toward O.

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
Suppose that we suddenly remove the applied electric field polarizing the atom. There is
then only the restoring force -βx, which always acts to pull the electrons toward the
nucleus O. The equation of motion of the negative charge center is then: F=ma

Thus, the displacement at any time is sinusoidal and given by

Electronic
polarization
resonance
frequency

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
 Polarization Vector P
bound
surface polarization charges

We represent the polarization of a medium by a quantity called polarization P, which is defined as the total dipole moment
per unit volume

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
We can view this arrangement as one big dipole moment p Total from
−QP to +QP

The charge per unit area appearing on the surface of a polarized

medium is equal to the component of the polarization vector
normal to this surface.
To express the dependence of P on the field E, we define a
quantity called the Electric Susceptibility

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
where N is the number of molecules per unit volume. Then and α are related by

Free and Bound Charges:

and Q, before and after the dielectric insertion are free Charges because they result from the motion of
free electrons in the metal.

The polarization charges +and -, on the other hand, are bound to the molecules. They cannot move within
the dielectric or on its surface.

Before insertion of the dielectric

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
 After insertion of the dielectric
Field remain the same V∕d, but the free charges on the plates are different. The free surface charge on the
plates is now Q In addition there are bound polarization charges on the dielectric surfaces next to the plates
QP appearing on the dielectric surfaces

FROM PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES, THIRD EDITION, S.O. KASAP (© MCGRAW-HILL, 2005)
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

But we have

Then
We are then left with evaluating the field due to polarization charges
on the inner surface S of the cavity. This field comes from
polarization charges on the surface S. We are then left with
evaluating the field due to polarization charges on the inner surface
S of the cavity. This field comes from polarization charges on the
surface S

The radius of this shell is a sin θ

whereas its width (or thickness) is a dθ
Then
dS =(2πa sin θ)(a dθ).
The polarization charge dQP on this spherical shell surface is

Use

x= Cosθ
dx= - sinθ dθ Lorentz relation
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

 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 This polarization occurs at frequency
factor of 10 or more, which leads to ionic solids having large 1013 Hz (IR). It is a slower process
dielectric constants. The polarization P exhibited by the ionic
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.
The torque experienced by the dipole

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