| Abstract Scope |
The dielectric behavior refers to electric polarization behavior. This behavior has long been studied in relation to nonconductive materials. However, it occurs in conductive materials too. Although the polarization in a conductor is low, the polarizability (which is described by the permittivity) is high. For conductor applications, the dielectric behavior is disadvantageous, as it impedes conduction and delays the signal propagation. This work reports the permittivity of silicon wafer, solder (Sn-4Ag) and conductive thick films (e.g., silver-particle thick film). The polarization stems from the interaction of a small fraction of the carriers with the atoms. This interaction occurs mainly at defects. Due to the abundance of interfaces in the solder alloy (phase boundaries) and conductive thick films (inter-particle interfaces), the relative permittivity is as high as 1,000,000 (kHz range). For single-crystal boron-doped silicon wafer, the in-plane relative permittivity is lower, but still high (1,000), due to the dopant (substitutional impurity). |