Low-loss behavior of /spl alpha/-PVDF

The exact nature of the polarization processes in low-loss materials is not sufficiently understood and good experimental material is relatively scarce. Dielectric response of /spl alpha/-PVDF covering 8.5 decades of frequency between 10/sup -/2 and 3/spl times/10/sup 6/ Hz and a range of temperatures between 103 and 138 K were analyzed to reveal the nature of the dominant polarization process. Correcting for a series resistance and a Debye-like loss process at 50 kHz, the 'universal' fractional power law of dielectric response is well maintained, the residual tan /spl delta/ falls between 0.002 and 0.02 depending on temperature and frequency, with the residual loss process presumed to be due to hopping charge carriers having an activation energy of 0.035 eV. The universal process itself has a relatively high loss but its amplitude is low and this accounts for the low tan /spl delta/.