VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record

Date: Reg. No.

Dielectric studies

Aim of the Experiment:

To study the temperature dependent dielectric behaviour of a ferroelectric material and to

determine its Curie temperature

Apparatus Required:

 Dielectric study set-up

 Temperature controlled oven
 Spring loaded probe
 Barium titanate (BaTiO3) palette

Basic Theory:

Ferroelectricity is the property of a material which exhibits spontaneous polarization. It

occurs in polar crystals and is a function of temperature. This is due to the presence of
permanent dipoles in these materials. Below a certain critical temperature known as Curie
temperature (C), these kind of materials exhibit ferroelectric behaviour and above which,
they exhibit paraelectric behaviour.

C
Dielectric constant of the material is given by:  
C0

C – Capacitance of the parallel plate capacitor using the sample as dielectric medium

0 A
C0 – Capacitance with vacuum as the dielectric medium; C0 
t

0 – Electrical permittivity in free space (8.854 × 10-12 F/m)

A – Area of the sample, t – thickness of the sample

Procedure:

1. BaTiO3 sample is kept on the Al foil and is connected to the spring loaded probes.
One probe is in contact with the sample and the other is in touch with the Al foil. This
forms a parallel plate capacitor with a dielectric in between two metal plates.
2. Connect the probe leads to capacitance meter.
VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.

3. Connect oven to the main unit and keep it in OFF state.

4. Switch on the main unit and note down the capacitance at room temperature.
5. Switch on the temperature controller and adjust the set temperature as ~150 oC. The
green LED will glow if the oven is switched ON.
6. Note the capacitance value at 40 oC and at intervals of 20 oC up to 120 oC.
7. Note the capacitance at intervals of 2 oC for temperatures from 120 – 150 oC.
8. Calculate the dielectric constant at each temperature and plot it as a function of
temperature in the graph paper.
9. From the graph, find out the Curie temperature which is the turning point at which the
slope changes its sign.

Table:

Temperature ( ) Capacitance ( ) Dielectric Constant ()

VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.
VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.
 VIT University, Vellore Campus Materials Science Lab Manual and Record
Date: Reg. No.

Calculations:

Results:

The dielectric behaviour of the given sample was studied as a function of temperature and its
Curie temperature is found to be : ______________________