A numerical approach to analyze the internal electrical response of dielectric ceramics with arbitrary shaped inclusion

Multicomponent dielectric ceramic structures are becoming more desirable for their capability to satisfy the growing need for better sensitivity and selectivity of modern devices. Theoretical analysis of these multicomponent dielectric ceramic structures is rather complicated. Most of the reported analytical methods are generally limited to isotropic mixtures with spherical and in some cases elliptical inclusions. We believe that the inherent limitation in the analytical approach makes it difficult to get a closed form solution for arbitrary shaped inclusions. We have developed a rather simple and accurate numerical method which enables one to predict the internal electrical environment within the dielectric ceramics with arbitrary shaped inclusions. This method was used to calculate the potential distribution, the polarization and the effective permittivity. Discussion will also include the effect of the inclusion's shape on these properties.