High frequency dielectric and electromechanical properties of ferroelectric nylon 11

Abstract Measurements of the high frequency dielectric and thickness-mode electromechanical properties of ferroelectric nylon 11 are reported. Two sets of nylon 11 film samples were produced. The first set was melt-quenched and poled, while the second set was melt-quenched and then cold-drawn at room temperature before poling, resulting in a three-dimensionally ordered sample. Gold electrodes, 10 mm by 10 mm, were evaporated onto opposing sample surfaces. The remanent polarization of the unoriented sample measured 27 mC/m2 while that of the oriented sample measured 52 mC/m2. Samples of each film were placed in a programmable environmental chamber while connected to a Hewlett-Packard 4195A Network/Impedance Analyzer via a custom remote fixture. Broadband measurements were made of the clamped capacitance and dissipation factor, thickness-mode electromechanical coupling coefficient kt , mechanical quality factor Qm , and longitudinal sound velocity v 1 for each sample over a temperature range of 20°–160°C. C...