Complex Dielectric Permittivity Measurements Research Articles

A New Numerical Simulation Framework to Model the Electric Interfacial Polarization Effects and Corresponding Impacts on Complex Dielectric Permittivity Measurements in Sedimentary Rocks

A New Numerical Simulation Framework to Model the Electric Interfacial Polarization Effects and Corresponding Impacts on Complex Dielectric Permittivity Measurements in Sedimentary Rocks

Measurement of complex dielectric permittivity of medium and low loss materials at 36.624 GHz and 52.263 GHz using a single iris rectangular cavity resonator

Measurement of complex dielectric permittivity of medium and low loss materials at 36.624 GHz and 52.263 GHz using a single iris rectangular cavity resonator

Predicting the Density-Scaling Exponent of a Glass-Forming Liquid from Complex Dielectric Permittivity Measurements.

One of the challenging problems related to the liquid-glass transition phenomenon is establishing a link between the character of intermolecular interactions and the behavior of molecular dynamics. Introducing the density scaling concept, according to which dynamic quantities, e.g., viscosity or structural relaxation time (τ_{α}) measured at different thermodynamic conditions are expressed as a single universal curve if plotted against ρ^{γ}/T, led to significant progress in solving this problem since the scaling exponent γ defines the steepness of the repulsive part of the intermolecular potential. Herein, we found that relaxation dynamics of van der Waals and H-bonding glass formers, for which the Kirkwood factor (g_{K}) is an isomorph-invariant quantity, satisfy an alternative scaling, logτ_{α} vs T(Δϵ_{s}T)^{-γ}. As a result, the exponent γ is determined from the temperature and pressure evolutions of τ_{α} and dielectric relaxation strength Δϵ-both obtained in a single dielectric experiment, which makes the γ coefficient to be accessed in the future for an extensive database of glass-forming liquids.

Microwave Spectroscopy Investigation of Carasau Bread Doughs: Effects of Composition up to 8.5 GHz.

Carasau bread is a flat bread, typical of Sardinia (Italy). The market of this food product has a large growth potential, and its industry is experiencing a revolution, characterized by digitalization and automation. To monitor the quality of this food product at different manufacturing stages, microwave sensors and devices could be a cost-effective solution. In this framework, knowledge of the microwave response of Carasau dough is required. Thus far, the analysis of the microwave response of Carasau doughs through dielectric spectroscopy has been limited to the dynamics of fermentation. In this work, we aim to perform complex dielectric permittivity measurements up to 8.5 GHz, investigating and modeling the role of water amount, salt and yeast concentrations on the spectra of this food product. A third-order Cole-Cole model was used to interpret the microwave response of the different samples, resulting in a maximum error of 1.58% and 1.60% for the real and imaginary parts of permittivity, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis was also performed to support the microwave spectroscopy investigation. We found that dielectric properties of Carasau bread doughs strongly depend on the water content. The analysis highlighted that an increase in water quantity tends to increase the bounded water fraction at the expense of the free water fraction. In particular, the free water amount in the dough is not related to the broadening parameter γ2 of the second pole, whereas the bound water weight fraction is more evident in the γ2 and σdc parameters. An increase in electrical conductivity was observed for increasing water content. The microwave spectrum of the real part of the complex permittivity is slightly affected by composition, while large variation in the imaginary part of the complex dielectric permittivity can be identified, especially for frequencies below 4 GHz. The methodology and data proposed and reported in this work can be used to design a microwave sensor for retrieving the composition of Carasau bread doughs through their dielectric signature.

Dielectric Spectroscopy of Slightly Saline Sands

Abstract —We present results of experimental measurements of complex dielectric permittivity (CDP) of sand and powders of quartz granules with mass-averaged particle sizes from 5 to 250 μm, saturated with distilled water and NaCl solutions with a conductivity of up to 0.77 S/m. The CDP spectra are measured in a frequency range from 1 kHz to 8.5 GHz. Spectra at frequencies above 1 GHz are simulated using a refractive three-component mixture model. The CDP spectra in a frequency range from 10 kHz to 1 GHz were simulated by three relaxation processes using the Debye and Cole–Cole equations. It is shown that the conductivity of the sample at a frequency of ~5 kHz is not proportional to the conductivity of the saturating solution. The strengths of the two low-frequency processes are more closely correlated with the sample conductivity than with the solution proportion. The relaxation times of the low- and high-frequency processes are statistically related to an average particle size, and the relaxation time of the low-frequency process is additionally correlated with the specific surface area of the particles. We estimated the conductivity of the saturating solution at which the correlation is the strongest.

Open-Ended Coaxial Probe Measurements of Complex Dielectric Permittivity in Diesel-Contaminated Soil during Bioremediation.

In the bioremediation field, geophysical techniques are commonly applied, at lab scale and field scale, to perform the characterization and the monitoring of contaminated soils. We propose a method for detecting the dielectric properties of contaminated soil during a process of bioremediation. An open-ended coaxial probe measured the complex dielectric permittivity (between 0.2 and 20 GHz) on a series of six soil microcosms contaminated by diesel oil (13.5% Voil/Vtot). The microcosms had different moisture content (13%, 19%, and 24% Vw/Vtot) and different salinity due to the addition of nutrients (22 and 15 g/L). The real and the imaginary component of the complex dielectric permittivity were evaluated at the initial stage of contamination and after 130 days. In almost all microcosms, the real component showed a significant decrease (up to 2 units) at all frequencies. The results revealed that the changes in the real part of the dielectric permittivity are related to the amount of degradation and loss in moisture content. The imaginary component, mainly linked to the electrical conductivity of the soil, shows a significant drop to almost 0 at low frequencies. This could be explained by a salt depletion during bioremediation. Despite a moderate accuracy reduction compared to measurements performed on liquid media, this technology can be successfully applied to granular materials such as soil. The open-ended coaxial probe is a promising instrument to check the dielectric properties of soil to characterize or monitor a bioremediation process.

Macroscopic and microscopic electrical properties of a ferrofluid in a low frequency field

Using the complex dielectric permittivity measurements, in the frequency range 20 Hz – 2 MHz and at temperatures between (25–70)∘C, the polarizability (α), the electric modulus (M) and the electrical conductivity (σ), of a ferrofluid sample, were determined. The results enabled the computation of the thermal activation energy of electrical conduction, the obtained value being approximately equal, at 0.15 eV. By eliminating the losses arising from electrical conduction, we highlighted the existence of a Schwarz type dielectric relaxation, in the sample, at the frequency above 5 kHz. These results allowed, for the first time, the evaluation of the mechanical mobility, u, of the ions on the particle surface, resulting in a value of, u=3.4⋅108 m/sN. Knowledge of macroscopic and microscopic electrical properties is useful in explaining the dielectric polarization mechanisms and relaxation processes of ferrofluids, and also in the use of ferrofluids in technological and biomedical applications.

Tailoring Antenna Focal Plane Characteristics for a Compact Free-Space Microwave Complex Dielectric Permittivity Measurement Setup

This article presents a compact precision free-space microwave measurement setup with a choice of three dielectric lenses to tailor the antenna focal plane characteristics for extracting complex dielectric permittivity of small samples. Custom designed spot-focusing horn antenna pairs were used to achieve a compact setup with antenna separation distance, 2 f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">l</sub> :4λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> -8λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> and focal spot size, f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">s</sub> :1λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> -1.5λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> , where λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> is the wavelength at center frequency. Using the compact free-space setup, relative complex permittivity (e' - je'') was extracted over 8-12 GHz for lowand high-loss dielectrics with lateral dimensions, 3.3λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> × 3.3λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> and 10λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> × 10λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> . For large materials under test (MUTs), i.e., 10λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> × 10λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> , measurement accuracy in dielectric constant, Δe'% was <; 0.65% and <; 1.14% for low- and high-loss dielectrics, respectively. For smaller MUTs (3.3λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> × 3.3λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> ), Ae'% was <; 0.89% and <; 2.29% for low- and high-loss MUTs, respectively. The error in loss tangent (Δtanδ) varied over 0.002-0.016 and 0.015-0.056 for large (10λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> × 10λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> ) and small MUTs (3.3λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> × 3.3λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> ), respectively. For large MUTs, biconvex lens pair with the smallest f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">s</sub> (1λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> ) and f <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">l</sub> (4λ <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> ) among the three lenses yielded the best accuracy in dielectric constant (e') due to tight field focusing at the focal plane. The plano-convex lens pair yielded the best accuracy in loss tangent (tanδ = e''/e') for large MUTs due to slow variation in the phase of the local plane wave. By tailoring antenna focal plane characteristics, a compact free-space setup that is 6×-10× smaller than the classical setup for handling MUTs that are 1/5th of the size used in classical setup is demonstrated without compromising the measurement accuracy.

Measurement of Complex Dielectric Permittivity of Quartz Systems

The article describes the problem of the experimental determination of complex dielectric permittivity for natural, activated, and modified quartz systems. The results of determination of specific surface, complex dielectric permittivity, sands porosity are presented in this article. The authors obtained the empirical equation of complex dielectric permittivity calculation for natural, activated, and modified quartz sands, taking into account the effect of moisture, specific surface, porosity, impurities content into consideration. The modification of the sand surface by means of mechanical beneficiation and ultrasonic treatment leads to reduction of complex dielectric permittivity and specific surface, thus contributing to the increase of the active centers quantity on the sands surface. The modification of the sand surface by polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution leads to increase of complex dielectric permittivity. Polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution modification envisages the creation of new active centers by oligomers inoculation to the surface and blocking the clay component and authigenous film ingredients. Among the considered methods, ultrasonic treatment in aqueous solution and mechanical beneficiation are the most efficient and technologically acceptable ways of activation.

On the nature of hysteresis phenomena at low-voltage polarization of crystalline ferroelectric polymers

Hysteresis phenomena were observed under electric fields two orders of magnitude lower than the coercive ones in ferroelectric copolymer vinylidene fluoride–tetrafluoroethylene. From the field dependences of the electrical displacement hysteresis, the volumetric energy density of electric loss was calculated. Its value increases with increasing amplitude of the sawtooth external field and is higher in case of lower external field frequency. Complex dielectric permittivity measurements indicate that the noted high-voltage hysteresis phenomena at polarization should be related to the process of space charge formation, which is due to the presence of heterogeneity in the copolymer under study.

A reconfigurable high Q epsilon near zero tunnel for material characterization

A new type of reconfigurable sensing cavity is designed for measurement of complex dielectric permittivity of materials. This circuit is based on an Epsilon Near Zero (ENZ) tunnel integrated on a substrate, and it uses liquid metal switches to reconfigure two tunneling frequencies (2.4 GHz, and 3.5 GHz). As opposed to conventional narrow channel ENZ structures, our tunnel offers high unloaded quality factor by increasing its volume and controlling its external coupling. Using the cavity perturbation technique, the permittivities of 5 different liquids were measured giving very close results to those reported in the literature.

Dielectric relaxation studies of 1,3 and 1,4-butanediol–water mixtures using time domain technique

The Complex dielectric permittivity measurements in the frequency range 10 MHz–30 GHz have been carried out for 1,3 and 1,4 -Butanediol in Water mixtures over the entire concentration range using time domain reflectometry method at 25 °C. The dielectric parameters such as static dielectric constant and relaxation time are obtained from the complex permittivity spectra using nonlinear least square fit method. Molecular interactions among the butanediol–water mixtures have been studied using Kirkwood correlation factor, Excess dielectric constant and Bruggeman factor.

High precision slotted cavity measurement of a novel ceramic state polymer electrolyte

Thin film materials are already used in a variety of microwave and higher frequency applications such as electrically tunable microwave devices, integrated circuits like MMICs, radomes, and radar absorbing coating. The determination of the dielectric properties of these films is thus of significant importance. The measurement of complex dielectric permittivity of thin films is very difficult at microwave, millimeter, and THz frequencies because both the amplitude change and phase shift are not large enough to evaluate the real part of the dielectric permittivity. A specially designed transverse slotted cavity for X-band microwave measurement has been designed and constructed to employ with a vector network analyzer to evaluate the real part of dielectric permittivity of thin films accurately and conveniently. Commercially available polymer thin films are measured to validate the methods.

Predicting the cation exchange capacity of reservoir rocks from complex dielectric permittivity measurements

Dimensional analysis was performed to understand the physics of ionic dispersion in reservoir rocks and to identify the factors influencing the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of these rocks. Dimensional analysis revealed the existence of a general relation independent of the unit system between two dimensionless groups denoted as the cationic dispersion number [Formula: see text] and the conductivity number [Formula: see text]. The former group [Formula: see text] stands for the ratio of the CEC to the electrical double-layer dispersion. The latter group [Formula: see text] represents the ratio of the low-frequency ionic conductivity to the high-frequency electronic polarization. Complex dielectric permittivity measurements on 121 water-saturated sandstone and carbonate rock samples were used to validate the dimensionless groups. In retrospect, dimensional analysis was useful in identifying variables influencing the CEC of hydrocarbon rocks. In particular, these variables consist of rock porosity [Formula: see text], specific surface area, and five other parameters of the Cole-Cole function, which describes the frequency dependence of the complex permittivity of rock samples in the range 10–1300 MHz. The Cole-Cole function parameters are [Formula: see text], which is a characteristic relaxation time; [Formula: see text] is the so-called spread parameter; [Formula: see text] is the real DC conductivity of water-saturated rocks; and [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], which are the real numbers representing the static and the high-frequency dielectric permittivities of the water-saturated rock, respectively. A general regression neural network (GRNN) model was developed to predict the CEC of shaly sandstones and carbonate rocks as a function of the variables identified by the dimensional analysis as essential in predicting the CEC. The CEC prediction capability of the GRNN model has been tested with a blind data set, and it has been compared with the CEC prediction capability using a nonlinear regression model developed in this study and using a linear regression model available in the literature. The GRNN model outperformed both of these empirical models. With the GRNN model, it is possible to obtain reliable quantitative estimates of the CEC of shaly sandstone and carbonate rocks using nondestructive frequency-dependent dielectric permittivity measurements that are rapid, economic, and accurate. In return, accurate and fast estimates of the CEC are useful in many petroleum engineering applications. They can be used to identify clay types and can also be used to quantify the volume of hydrocarbon in shaly sands using well-log resistivity data. The results of this study represent a major advantage for formation evaluation, wellbore stability analysis, and designing stimulation jobs.

From the bulk electrolyte solution to the electrochemical interface

This paper is aiming at presenting some relevant contributions of Jean-Pierre Badiali during the first ten years of his growing scientific activity. This presentation does not contain new materials but is based on a number of selected papers published in the seventies, a part of them written in French. The presentation is organized around three points. The first point, corresponding to his PhD thesis, is concerned with the study of ion-solvent and ion-ion interactions in a solution using complex dielectric permittivity measurements in the Hertzian and microwave frequency range. The second one is concerned with an analysis of the ion pair absorption band observed in the far infrared region in terms of an interionic potential energy. The third one is concerned with the metal-solution interface and his significant advances on (i) the Lippmann equation linking electrocapillary and electrical measurements and (ii) the contribution of the metal to the differential interfacial capacity.

Microwave dielectric relaxation spectroscopy study of propylene glycol/ethanol binary mixtures: Temperature dependence

Complex dielectric permittivity measurements of propylene glycol (PG) in ethanol at various mole fractions were measured by using open-ended coaxial probe technique at different temperatures in the frequency range 0.02<ν/GHz<20. The dipole moment (μ), excess dipole moment (Δμ),excess permittivity (εE), excess inverse relaxation time(1/τ)E, Bruggeman parameter (fB), excess Helmholtz energy (ΔFE) are determined using experimental data. From the minimum energy based geometry optimization, dipole moments of individual monomers of propylene glycol and ethanol and their binary system have been evaluated theoretically at gaseous state as well as alcoholic medium by using PCM and IEFPCM solvation models from the Hatree-Fock (HF) and Density Functional Theory (DFT-B3LYP) methods with 6-311G* and 6-311G** basis sets. The obtained results have been interpreted in terms of the short and long range ordering of the dipoles, Kirkwood correlation factor (geff), thermodynamic parameters, mean molecular polarizability (αM) and interaction in the mixture through hydrogen bonding.

Re-entrant spin-glass freezing and magneto-dielectric behaviour of Li3NiRuO5, a layered rock-salt related oxide

We report the results of neutron diffraction, ac and dc magnetization, heat-capacity, complex dielectric permittivity and pyrocurrent measurements on an oxide, Li3NiRuO5, hitherto not paid much attention in the literature.

Measurement of Complex Dielectric Permittivity in Oils from High-Voltage Transformes Using a Coaxial Probe

This work presents the results obtained in the measurement of complex dielectric permittivity of some samples of oil from high voltage transformers within a frequency range comprised between 100 MHz and 3 GHz. Three types of oil samples were considered: new, used and those used samples that have undergone a filtering process for their recovery and new use. The measurements were performed by using a low-cost probe adapted from an open-ended SMA coaxial connector. The values obtained in a vector network analyzer of the reflection coefficient, measured on the contact surface between the probe and the oil are used to calculate the real and imaginary part of the complex dielectric permittivity by using theoretical models of the cable’s open end. The results obtained permit assigning trust to this measurement and characterization method of the oils according to the value of the complex dielectric permittivity, given that it agrees with some values reported in the literature obtained through different methods.

Investigation of diffuse phase transition in ferroelectric Pb2−x K1+x Li x Nb5O15 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.5) ceramics

Substitution of Pb with Li and K in the Pb2KNb5O15 phases leads to a new composition with chemical composition Pb2−xK1+xLixNb5O15 which crystallizes with tetragonal tungsten bronze-type structure. Ferroelectric ceramics with different compositions were synthesized using solid-state reaction and complex dielectric permittivity measurements in these compounds were performed in a frequency and temperature range of 20 Hz–1 MHz and from 25 to 550 °C, respectively. Special attention was paid to the diffuse phase transition (DPT) that occurs close to the Curie temperature. The empirical equation proposed by Santos–Eiras for a phenomenological description of the temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity (\(\varepsilon_{\text{r}}^{{\prime }}\)) peak is used to calculate some characteristic parameters of DPT. From the results, it must be assumed that these compounds show a diffuse phase transition with non-relaxor behavior. A basic phase diagram showing the evolution of Tm function of composition x is deduced from this study.

Hydration of DNA-binding biological active compounds: EHF dielectrometry and molecular modeling results

We report hydration properties of several DNA-binding ligands (pharmaceutical drug caffeine; mutagens proflavine, ethidium bromide, propidium iodide; polyamines putrescine, spermine), which are able to interact with DNA in different modes via external binding, intercalation or minor groove binding. We show that the detection of the bound water molecules and the estimation of their amount in aqueous solutions of ligands can be efficiently carried out using the measurements of complex dielectric permittivity of the solutions in the millimeter range of radio waves. Our dielectrometric data are combined with the results of the molecular modeling including quantum chemical calculations and Monte Carlo simulations. We show that number of water molecules able to form hydrogen bonds with donor–acceptor groups of ligands correlates with hydration numbers taken from the literature or obtained in EHF dielectrometry experiment. The latter indicates that the EHF dielectrometry method is sensitive for the tightly bound water molecules.