Atomic-scale dielectric permittivity profiles in slabs and multilayers

Abstract

A recently developed theory of atomic-scale local dielectric permittivity has been used to determine the position dependent permittivity profiles of a few nanoscale insulator surfaces and multilayers. Specifically, slabs containing single-component (Si, polymer, and ${\mathrm{SiO}}_{2}$) and two-component ($\mathrm{Si}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{\mathrm{SiO}}_{2}$ and polymer-${\mathrm{SiO}}_{2}$) systems of technological importance have been studied. The present approach indicates that the local permittivity is generally enhanced at the surfaces and/or interfaces, and that it approaches the corresponding bulk values in the interior of each component. This simple method of determining the position-dependent dielectric permittivity profiles can be used to study the impact of atomic level disorder and defects on dielectric properties.