Dielectric constant of polymer composites: a novel thermal-electrical approach

Polymeric composites of high dielectric constants find many applications in microelectronics and optics. It is experimentally known that the interaction of dielectric particles dispersed in a polymeric composite can lead to an enhancement of the dielectric constant of the composite relative to that as predicted by Clausius-Mosotti equation. A model for determining this enhancement as a function of volume fraction of particles is introduced. It is shown that the enhancement increases with the particle volume fraction, which is consistent with the experimental evidence. Our theoretical results lead to the development of a viable means for enhancing the dielectric constant of composites by thermally poling under a sufficiently high electric field.