Chapter 10 -- Dielectric Spectroscopy and Stimulated Current Analyses of Polymer-Ceramic Nanocomposites

Spectroscopy is an absorption or emission response to a stimulus where a device utilizes the excitation to perform a function. Spectroscopy is, therefore, a primary tool to assess materials properties for application in a device. Choice of the characterization method and frequency must account for interfacial properties to obtain an appropriate response signal. In this review, dielectric spectroscopy is discussed as a means to characterize the dielectrical and mechanical properties of powders, powder compacts, and composites. Dielectric and impedance spectroscopy are commonly utilized tools for examining the polarization response of dielectric materials, powder compacts, and composites, as a function of temperature and frequency. The specific advantage of these techniques is their ability to measure relaxation phenomena over a very wide frequency range, from ~10-4 to 109Hz. Stimulated current analyses, on the other hand, release stored a charge to characterize matrix relaxation events, the energy stored and/or the kind of charge carrier to elucidate structure, quantify loss, or diagnose dielectric breakdown mechanisms