Dielectric constant obtained from TDR and volumetric moisture of soils in southern Brazil

Soil moisture is the property which most greatly influences the soil dielectric constant, which is also influenced by soil mineralogy. The aim of this study was to determine mathematical models for soil moisture and the dielectric constant (Ka) for a Hapludalf, two clayey Hapludox and a very clayey Hapludox and test the reliability of universal models, such as those proposed by Topp and Ledieu and their co-workers in the 80's, and specific models to estimate soil moisture with a TDR. Soil samples were collected from the 0 to 0.30 m layer, sieved through a mesh of 0.002 m diameter and packed in PVC cylinders with a 0.1 m diameter and 0.3 m height. Seven samples of each soil class were saturated by capillarity and a probe composed of two rods was inserted in each one of them. Moisture readings began with the saturated soil and concluded when the soil was near permanent wilting point. In each step, the samples were weighed on a precision scale to calculate volumetric moisture. Linear and polynomial models were adjusted for each soil class and for all soils together between soil moisture and the dielectric constant. Accuracy of the models was evaluated by the coefficient of determination, the standard error of estimate and the 1:1 line. The models proposed by Topp and Ledieu and their co-workers were not adequate for estimating the moisture in the soil classes studied. The adjusted linear and polynomial models for the entire set of data of the four soil classes did not have sufficient accuracy for estimating soil moisture. The greater the soil clay and Fe oxide content, the greater the dielectric constant of the medium for a given volumetric moisture. The specific models, θ = 0.40283 - 0.04231 Ka + 0.00194 Ka² - 0.000022 Ka³ (Hapludox) θ = 0.01971 + 0.02902 Ka - 0.00086 Ka² + 0.000012 Ka³ (Hapludox -PF), θ = 0.01692 - 0.00507 Ka (Hapludalf) and θ = 0.08471 + 0.01145 Ka (Hapludox-CA), show greater accuracy and reliability for estimating soil moisture in the soil classes studied.

Effective mass and dielectric constant mismatch effects in spherical multishell quantum dots

The role of effective mass and dielectric mismatches on chemical potentials and addition energies of many-electron multishell quantum dots (QDs) is explored within the framework of a recent extension of the spin density functional theory. It is shown that although the gross electronic density is located in the wells of these multishell QDs, taking position-dependent effective mass and dielectric constant into account can lead to the appearance of relevant differences in chemical potential and addition energies as compared to standard calculations in which the effective mass and the dielectric constant of the well is assumed for the whole multishell structure.

Dielectric formulation for Many-Particle Systems with General Interactions

An extension of the self-consistent field approach formulation by Cohen in the preceding paper is proposed in order to include the most general kind of two-body interactions, i.e., interactions depending on position, momenta, spin, isotopic spin, etc. The dielectric function is replaced by a dielectric matrix. The evaluation of the energies involves the computation of a matrix inversion and trace.

Dielectric anomaly and magnetic response of epitaxial orthorhombic YMnO3 thin films

The structure, magnetic response, and dielectric response of the grown epitaxial thin films of the orthorhombic phase of YMnO3 oxide on Nb:SrTiO3 (001) substrates have been measured. We have found that a substrate-induced strain produces an in-plane compression of the YMnO3 unit cell. The magnetization versus temperature curves display a significant zero-field cooling (ZFC)-field cooling hysteresis below the Nel temperature (TN 45 K). The dielectric constant increases gradually (up to 26%) below the TN and mimics the ZFC magnetization curve. We argue that these effects could be a manifestation of magnetoelectric coupling in YMnO3 thin films and that the magnetic structure of YMnO3 can be controlled by substrate selection and/or growth conditions.

Influence of the pseudopotential on the properties of liquid rubidium at 315 K

The influence of the pseudopotential on both the structure and the self-diffusion of liquid rubidium at the melting point has been investigated by means of molecular-dynamics calculations. The model potential considered has been computed from the pseudopotential of Ashcroft, the dielectric function of Geldart and Vosko, and a Born-Mayer term. Four different values for the core radius which enters as input in the pseudopotential have been considered. In this way we have been able to observe and interpret the effect of this contribution on the properties of the liquid.

Single acquisition electrical property mapping based on relative coil sensitivities: A proof-of-concept demonstration.

PURPOSE: All methods presented to date to map both conductivity and permittivity rely on multiple acquisitions to compute quantitatively the magnitude of radiofrequency transmit fields, B1+. In this work, we propose a method to compute both conductivity and permittivity based solely on relative receive coil sensitivities ( B1-) that can be obtained in one single measurement without the need to neither explicitly perform transmit/receive phase separation nor make assumptions regarding those phases. THEORY AND METHODS: To demonstrate the validity and the noise sensitivity of our method we used electromagnetic finite differences simulations of a 16-channel transceiver array. To experimentally validate our methodology at 7 Tesla, multi compartment phantom data was acquired using a standard 32-channel receive coil system and two-dimensional (2D) and 3D gradient echo acquisition. The reconstructed electric properties were correlated to those measured using dielectric probes. RESULTS: The method was demonstrated both in simulations and in phantom data with correlations to both the modeled and bench measurements being close to identity. The noise properties were modeled and understood. CONCLUSION: The proposed methodology allows to quantitatively determine the electrical properties of a sample using any MR contrast, with the only constraint being the need to have 4 or more receive coils and high SNR. Magn Reson Med, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Preparation, Characterisation And Microwave Dielectric Properties Of Anbn-1o3n (N=5,6,8) Type Perovskite Compounds

The present study on the preparation , characterization and microwave dielectric properties of AnBn-1O3n (N=5,6,8) type perovskite compounds. The explored ceramics show dielectric constant between 11 and 54,quality factor in the range 2400 to 88900 GHz and Tf in the range -73 to +231ppm/0C.Most of the investigated cation deficient hexagonal perovskites show intermediate dielectric constant with high quality factors. This study gives a general introduction about material, scientific and technological aspects of DRs.Three important ,€r ,Q and Tf, used for the DR characterization are described. The relationship of the above parameters with the fundamental material characteristics is discussed. Different modes are excited when a DR is excited with suitable microwave spectrum of frequencies .A description of analytical determination of frequencies and construction of mode charts used for sample design and mode identification are also discussed. In this study several ceramics are developed for DR purposes, very little attention has been paid to grow the single crystals. It might be due to the fact that the difficulties and time involved in the growth of single crystals, big enough to function as microwave resonators make them expensive .However single crystals of these materials may have very high Q values. It is also possible that a better understanding of the dielectric properties in relation to the structure can be arrived using single crystals. Hence one of the future directions of dielectric resonator research should be to grow good quality single crystals of the above materials.

Plasma Polymerised Organic Thin Films-A Study on the Structural, Electrical and Nonlinear Optical Properties for Possible Applications

This proposed thesis is entitled “Plasma Polymerised Organic Thin Films: A study on the Structural, Electrical, and Nonlinear Optical Properties for Possible Applications. Polymers and polymer based materials find enormous applications in the realm of electronics and optoelectronics. They are employed as both active and passive components in making various devices. Enormous research activities are going on in this area for the last three decades or so, and many useful contributions are made quite accidentally. Conducting polymers is such a discovery, and eversince the discovery of conducting polyacetylene, a new branch of science itself has emerged in the form of synthetic metals. Conducting polymers are useful materials for many applications like polymer displays, high density data storage, polymer FETs, polymer LEDs, photo voltaic devices and electrochemical cells. With the emergence of molecular electronics and its potential in finding useful applications, organic thin films are receiving an unusual attention by scientists and engineers alike. This is evident from the vast literature pertaining to this field appearing in various journals. Recently, computer aided design of organic molecules have added further impetus to the ongoing research activities in this area. Polymers, especially, conducting polymers can be prepared both in the bulk and in the thinfilm form. However, many applications necessitate that they are grown in the thin film form either as free standing or on appropriate substrates. As far as their bulk counterparts are concerned, they can be prepared by various polymerisation techniques such as chemical routes and electrochemical means. A survey of the literature reveals that polymers like polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, have been investigated with a view to studying their structural electrical and optical properties. Among the various alternate techniques employed for the preparation of polymer thin films, the method of plasma polymerisation needs special attention in this context. The technique of plasma polymerisation is an inexpensive method and often requires very less infra structure. This method includes the employment of ac, rf, dc, microwave and pulsed sources. They produce pinhole free homogeneous films on appropriate substrates under controlled conditions. In conventional plasma polymerisation set up, the monomer is fed into an evacuated chamber and an ac/rf/dc/ w/pulsed discharge is created which enables the monomer species to dissociate, leading to the formation of polymer thin films. However, it has been found that the structure and hence the properties exhibited by plasma polymerized thin films are quite different from that of their counterparts produced by other thin film preparation techniques such as electrochemical deposition or spin coating. The properties of these thin films can be tuned only if the interrelationship between the structure and other properties are understood from a fundamental point of view. So very often, a through evaluation of the various properties is a pre-requisite for tailoring the properties of the thin films for applications. It has been found that conjugation is a necessary condition for enhancing the conductivity of polymer thin films. RF technique of plasma polymerisation is an excellent tool to induce conjugation and this modifies the electrical properties too. Both oxidative and reductive doping can be employed to modify the electrical properties of the polymer thin films for various applications. This is where organic thin films based on polymers scored over inorganic thin films, where in large area devices can be fabricated with organic semiconductors which is difficult to achieve by inorganic materials. For such applications, a variety of polymers have been synthesized such as polyaniline, polythiophene, polypyrrole etc. There are newer polymers added to this family every now and then. There are many virgin areas where plasma polymers are yet to make a foray namely low-k dielectrics or as potential nonlinear optical materials such as optical limiters. There are also many materials which are not been prepared by the method of plasma polymerisation. Some of the materials which are not been dealt with are phenyl hydrazine and tea tree oil. The advantage of employing organic extracts like tea tree oil monomers as precursors for making plasma polymers is that there can be value addition to the already existing uses and possibility exists in converting them to electronic grade materials, especially semiconductors and optically active materials for photonic applications. One of the major motivations of this study is to synthesize plasma polymer thin films based on aniline, phenyl hydrazine, pyrrole, tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil by employing both rf and ac plasma polymerisation techniques. This will be carried out with the objective of growing thin films on various substrates such as glass, quartz and indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass. There are various properties namely structural, electrical, dielectric permittivity, nonlinear optical properties which are to be evaluated to establish the relationship with the structure and the other properties. Special emphasis will be laid in evaluating the optical parameters like refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k), the real and imaginary components of dielectric constant and the optical transition energies of the polymer thin films from the spectroscopic ellipsometric studies. Apart from evaluating these physical constants, it is also possible to predict whether a material exhibit nonlinear optical properties by ellipsometric investigations. So further studies using open aperture z-scan technique in order to evaluate the nonlinear optical properties of a few selected samples which are potential nonlinear optical materials is another objective of the present study. It will be another endeavour to offer an appropriate explanation for the nonlinear optical properties displayed by these films. Doping of plasma polymers is found to modify both the electrical conductivity and optical properties. Iodine is found to modify the properties of the polymer thin films. However insitu iodine doping is tricky and the film often looses its stability because of the escape of iodine. An appropriate insitu technique of doping will be developed to dope iodine in to the plasma polymerized thin films. Doping of polymer thin films with iodine results in improved and modified optical and electrical properties. However it requires tools like FTIR and UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy to elucidate the structural and optical modifications imparted to the polymer films. This will be attempted here to establish the role of iodine in the modification of the properties exhibited by the films

Studies on the Effect of High Energy Ball Milling On the Structural, Electrical and Magnetic Properties of Some Normal Spinets in the Ultrafine Regime

The present work is an attempt to understand the characteristics of high energy ball milling on the structural, electrical and magnetic properties of some normal spinets in the ultra fine regime, Magnetism and magnetic materials have been a fascinating subject for the mankind ever since the discovery of lodestone. Since then, man has been applying this principle of magnetism to build devices for various applications. Magnetism can be classified broadly into five categories. They are diamagnetic, paramagnetic, ferromagnetic antiferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic. Of these, ferro and ferri magnetic materials assume great commercial importance due to their unique properties like appropriate magnetic characteristics, high resistivity and low eddy current losses. The emergence of nanoscience and nanotechnology during the last decade had its impact in the field of magnetism and magnetic materials too. Now, it is common knowledge that materials synthesized in the nanoregime exhibit novel and superlative properties with respect to their coarser sized counterparts in the micron regime. These studies reveal that dielectric properties can be varied appreciably by high-energy ball milling in nanosized zinc ferrites produced by coprecipitation method. A semi conducting behaviour was observed in these materials with the Oxygen vacancies acting as the main charge carrier for conduction, which was produced at the time of coprecipitation and milling. Thus through this study, it was possible to successfully investigate the finite size effects on the structural, electrical and magnetic properties of normal spinels in the ultra fine regime

Enhanced Bandwidth Microstrip Patch Antennas Loaded with High Permittivity Dielectric Resonators

A novel technique fitr the bat dividth enhancement of conventional rectangular microstrip antenna is proposed in this paper. When a high permittivity dielectric resonator of suitable resonant frequency was loaded over the patch. the % bandwidth of the antenna was increased by more than five tunes without much affecting its gain and radiation performance. A much more improved bandwidth was obtained when the dielectric resonator was placed on the feedline. Experimental study shows a 2:1 VSWR bandwidth of more than 10% and excellent cross polarization performance with increased pass band and radiation coverage abnost the same as that of rectangular microstrip antenna

L-strip-fed Wideband Rectangular Dielectric Resonator Antenna

In this paper, the advantages of using L-shaped microviij) feed to e.tcite a rectangular dielectric resonator cuuenna (DRA) by elemanagnetic coupling are presented. This feeding technique enhances the hardsvidth and gain of the antenna without affecting its size. The experimental re srdts are validated using Fidelity software based on the finitedifference tine-domain (FDTD) method

Microwave Characterisation of BaCe2Ti5O15 and Ba5Nb4O15 Ceramic Dielectric Resonators Using Whispering Gallery Mode Method

A microwave dielectric ceramic resonator based on BaCe2Ti5O15 and Ba5Nb4O15 have been prepared by conventional solid state ceramic route. The dielectric resonators (DRs) have high dielectric constant 32 and 40 for BaCe2Ti5O15 and Ba5Nb4O15, respectively. The whispering gallery mode (WGM) technique was employed for the accurate determination of the dielectric properties in the microwave frequency range. The BaCe2Ti5O15 and Ba5Nb4O15 have quality factors (Q X F) of 30,600 and 53,000 respectively. The quality factor is found to depend on the azimuthal mode numbers. The temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (Tr) of BaCe2Ti5O15 and Ba5Nb4O15 have been measured accurately using different resonant modes and are + 41 and + 78 ppm/K, respectively

Preparation, Characterization, and Microwave Properties of RETiNbO6 (RE = Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Y, and Yb) Dielectric Ceramics

Microwave ceramic dielectric resonators (DRs) based on RETiNbO6 (RE = Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Y, and Yb) have been prepared using the conventional solid -state ceramic route. The DR samples are characterized using XRD and SEM methods. The microwave dielectric properties are measured using resonant methods and a net work analyzer . The ceramics based on Ce, Pr, Nd, and Sin have dielectric constants in the range 32-54 and positive coefficient of thermal variation of resonant frequency (r,). The ceramics based on Gd, Tb, Dy, Y. and Yb have dielectric constants in the range 19-22 and negative Tf

Synthesis,Characterization and Properties of [REI_xREX]TiNb06 Dielectric Ceramics

Dielectric ceramics based on solid solution phases of [RE1_x= REr]TiNb06, where REI_s = Nd, Pr, Sm and RE' = Dy, Gd and Y, were prepared by the conventional solid-state ceramic route for values of x. The ceramic samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction and microwave methods. Ceramics based on RE (Pr, Nd and Sm) belonging to aeschynite group shows positive value of Tf and those based on RE (Gd, Dy and Y) belonging to euxenite group show negative value of r f. The solid solution phases between the aeschynite and the euxenite group shows intermediate dielectric constant and r f values. The results indicate the possibility of tailoring the dielectric properties by varying the composition of the solid solution phases. The range of solid solubility of euxenite in aeschenite and aeschenite in euxenite are different for different rare earth ions

Microwave Dielectric Properties of RETiTaO6 (RE = La, Ce,Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Y, Er, Yb, Al, and In) Ceramics

Microwave dielectric ceramics based on RETiTaO6 (RE = La, Cc, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Y, Er, Yb, Al, and In) were prepared using a conventional solid-state ceramic route. The structure and microstructure of the samples were analyzed using x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The sintered samples were characterized in the microwave frequency region. The ceramics based on Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, and Dy, which crystallize in orthorhombic aeschynite structure, had a relatively high dielectric constant and positive T f while those based on Ho, Er, and Yb, with orthorhombic euxenite structure, had a low dielectric constant and negative Tf. The RETiTaO6 ceramics had a high-quality factor. The dielectric constant and unit cell volume of the ceramics increased with an increase in ionic radius of the rare-earth ions, but density decreased with it. The value of Tf increased with an increase in RE ionic radii, and a change in the sign of Tf occurred when the ionic radius was between 0.90 and 0.92 A. The results indicated that the boundary of the aeschynite to euxenite morphotropic phase change lay between DyTiTaO6 and HoTiTaO6. Low-loss ceramics like ErTiTaO6 (Er = 20.6, Qxf = 85,500), EuTiTaO6 (Er = 41.3, Qxf = 59,500), and YTiTaO6 (Er = 22.1, Q„xf = 51,400) are potential candidates for dielectric resonator applications