Finite-Element Simulation of the Depolarization Factor of Arbitrarily Shaped Inclusions

An understanding of the polarization characteristics is vital to the rational design of future dielectric nanostructures. In this work, a finite-element methodology has been applied to simulate 2-D two-phase heterostructures containing a dielectric inclusion with arbitrary shape. The development does not impose any restriction on the shape of the inclusion. Given the paucity of experimental and numerical data, we set out to investigate systematically the trends that shape and permittivity contrast between the inclusion and the host matrix have on the depolarization factor (DF). The effect of the first- versus second-order concentration virial coefficient on the value of the DF is considered for a variety of inclusion shapes and a large set of material properties. Our findings suggest that the DF for a 2-D inclusion is highly tunable depending on the choice of these parameters. These results can provide a useful insight for the design of artificial two-phase heterostructures with specific polarization properties.