Journal of Advanced Dielectrics

Nowadays, the demand for advanced functional materials in transducer technology is growing rapidly. Piezoelectric materials transform mechanical variables (displacement or force) into electrical signals (charge or voltage) and vice versa. They are interesting from both fundamental and application points of view. Ferrooelectrets (also called piezoelectrets) are a relatively young group of piezo-, pyro- and ferroelectric materials. They exhibit ferroic behavior phenomenologically undistinguishable from that of traditional ferroelectrics, although the materials per se are essentially non-polar space-charge electrets with artificial macroscopic dipoles (i.e., internally charged cavities). A lot of work has been done on ferroelectrets and their applications up to now. In this paper, we review and discuss mostly the work done at University of Potsdam on the research and development of ferroelectrets. We will, however, also mention important results from other teams, and prospect the challenges and future progress trend of the field of ferroelectret research.

More than 30 years ago, a group of researchers in Tampere–Finland developed a thin foamed polymeric material for capacitive sensors. Such soft-voided films exhibited electrical charging characteristics, forming a powerful combination, which resulted in a smart-material with ferroelectric properties. The discovery of the electro-thermo mechanical film (ETMF) has sparked the curiosity of the electret community, leading to the development of several studies. At that time, ETMF became known as cellular electrets and, later, as ferroelectrets or piezoelectrets regarding their electromechanical properties. This paper provides a timeline review of the research on ferroelectrets produced in Brazil, between the years 1990 and 2020, towards demonstrating how the interest in the electret electrical charging mechanism has resulted in the use of ferroelectrets with well-controlled cavities for ultrasound applications.

The theory and application of resonances and vibrational modes are part of the foundation of science. In this contribution, examples of acoustical resonators are highlighted, and compared to electromagnetic modes. As an example from architecture, we describe the phenomenon of whispering galleries; such modes are nowadays known in dielectric and optical resonators. A specimen of a semicircular whispering bench in Park Sanssouci in Potsdam is acoustically investigated and demonstrated to show low losses for sound propagation. A special acoustical bug is discussed which was used for the espionage of the U.S. ambassador in Moscow. The Sovyets could interrogate this passive device by radio waves. Its working principle was based on the electromagnetic resonance of the cavity that the sound-sensitive membrane was part of. The underlying relation between excitation and resonance is compared to the sound production in flue organ pipes. A stopped flue organ pipe was investigated using a piezoelectric film sensor inside the pipe body. The results show that even-numbered modes, which are usually suppressed in the radiated sound of a stopped pipe, are still present in the vibrations inside the resonator.

Lead-free piezoelectric sodium bismuth titanate ((${\text{Bi}}_{0.5}$${\text{Na}}_{0.5}$)TiO₃, BNT) thin films were epitaxially grown onto (001)-, (110)-, and (111)-oriented Nb:SrTiO₃ (STO) single crystal substrates prepared by sol–gel processing. Highly oriented growth in (001), (110), and (111) BNT thin films was obtained in this work benefiting from the lattice match between the BNT film and the STO substrate. The different growth models in thin films with various orientations result in various surface morphologies dependent on the film orientation. The piezoresponse of the BNT thin films was represented exhibiting a strong orientation dependence that (110)>(001)>(111). This is contributed by the various domain switching contribution related to the crystal symmetry and polarization distribution in the three oriented thin films.

Vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymer films of molar ratio 70/30 with thickness of about 1 $\mu$m have been deposited from solution in ethyl methyl ketone to a glass substrate with an aluminum electrode by spin coating. The solution has been filtrated through a PTFE membrane filter with pore size 0.2 $\mu$m directly before spin coating or it has been used as is (unfiltrated). After deposition of a top electrode, the samples have been polarized by hysteresis loops with an electric field amplitude of about 100 V/$\mu$m. In samples, annealed at temperature 145${}^{\circ }$C for 3 h, a high remanent polarization of about 7.5 $\mu$C/cm² has been achieved, without significant differences between samples fabricated of filtrated or unfiltrated solution. Spherulitic lamella are growing in films fabricated of filtrated solution when they are heated above the melting temperature to 159${}^{\circ }$C for 3 min before the further annealing process at 145${}^{\circ }$C. These films show substantially lower remanent polarization below 4 $\mu$C/cm². Pyroelectric images recorded with a pyroelectric laser scanning microscope show that the spherulites have very small pyroelectric activity, i.e., the spherulites consist of flat-on lamella. In contrast, no spherulitic lamella are growing in films fabricated of unfiltrated solution heated above the melting temperature, melted and annealed under the same conditions. An explanation for this observation is that filtrating changes the structure of the copolymer in solution from polymer coil to rod. Copolymer rods deposited on a substrate will crystallize in flat-on lamella when heated above the melting temperature, in contrast to copolymer coils which crystallize in edge-on lamella.

The characterization of pyroelectric materials is essential for the design of pyroelectric-based devices. Pyroelectric current measurement is the commonly employed method, but can be complex and requires surface electrodes. Here, we present noncontact electrostatic voltmeter measurements as a simple but highly accurate alternative, by assessing thermally-induced pyroelectric surface potential variations. We introduce a refined model that relates the surface potential variations to both the pyroelectric coefficient and the characteristic figure of merit (FOM) and test the model with square-shaped samples made from PVDF, LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃. The characteristic pyroelectric coefficient for PVDF, LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃ was found to be 33.4, 59.9 and 208.4 $\mu$C m${}^{-2}$ K${}^{-1}$, respectively. These values are in perfect agreement with literature values, and they differ by less than 2.5% from values that we have obtained with standard pyroelectric current measurements for comparison.

Ferroelectricity in biological system has been anticipated both theoretically and experimentally over the past few decades. Claims of ferroelectricity in biological systems have given rise to confusion and methodological controversy. Over the years, a “loop” of induced polarization in response to a varying applied electrical field and a consequent polarization reversal has prompted many researchers to claim ferroelectricity in biological structures and their building blocks. Other observers were skeptical about the methodology adopted in generating the data and questioned the validity of the claimed ferroelectricity as such, “loop” can also be obtained from linear capacitors. In a paper with somewhat tongue-in-cheek title, Jim Scott showed that ordinary banana peels could exhibit closed loops of electrical charge which closely resemble and thus could be misinterpreted as ferroelectric hysteresis loops in barium sodium niobate, BNN paraphrasing it as “banana”. In this paper, we critically review ferroelectricity in biological system and argue that knowing the molecular and crystalline structure of biological building blocks and experimenting on such building blocks may be the way forward in revealing the “true” nature of ferroelectricity in biological systems.

Flexible dielectric polymers that can withstand high electric field and simultaneously have high dielectric constant are desired for high-density energy storage. Here, we systematically investigated the impact of oxygen-containing ether and carbonyl groups in the backbone structure on dielectric properties of a series of cyclic olefin. In comparison to the influence of the –CF₃ pendant groups that had more impact on the dielectric constant rather than the band gap, the change of the backbone structure affected both the dielectric constant and band gaps. The one polymer with ether and carbonyl groups in the backbone has the largest band gap and highest discharge efficiency, while it has the lowest dielectric constant. The polymer without any ether groups in the backbone has the smallest band gap and lowest discharge efficiency, but it has the highest dielectric constant. Polymers that have no dipolar relaxation exhibit an inversely correlated dielectric constant and band gap. Enhancing the dipolar relaxation through rational molecular structure design can be a novel way to break through the exclusive constraint of dielectric constant and band gap for high-density energy storage.

Dielectric materials with high energy storage density ($W_{\text{rec}}$) and efficiency ($\eta$) are expected for energy storage capacitors. In this work, $〈$001$〉$-textured ${\text{Na}}_{0.7}$${\text{Bi}}_{0.1}$NbO₃ (NBN) ceramics were prepared by a templated grain growth technique. The effects of microstructure and orientation degree on dielectric properties, polarization and energy storage performance were investigated. The textured ceramic with an optimized orientation degree (70%) showed a high $W_{\text{rec}}$ of 2.4 J/cm³ and $\eta$ of 85.6%. The excellent energy storage properties of textured ceramic originate from the co-effect of interfacial polarization and clamping effect. The results indicate that texture development is a potential candidate to optimize the energy storage properties of functional ceramics.

This paper reviews the interpretation of impedance and capacitance spectra for different capacitor technologies and discusses how basic electrical characteristics can be inferred from them. The basis of the interpretation is the equivalent circuit for capacitors. It is demonstrated how the model parameters, such as capacitance and equivalent series resistance, can be extracted from the measured spectra. The aspects of measurement accuracy are exemplarily discussed on the measured spectra.