TY - JOUR A1 - Flores Suárez, Rosaura A1 - Ganesan, Lakshmi Meena A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Gerhard, Reimund A1 - Mellinger, Axel T1 - Imaging liquid crystals dispersed in a ferroelectric polymer matrix by means of thermal-pulse tomography N2 - A new arrangement of the optical elements in a Thermal-Pulse-Tomography (TPT) setup allows to scan micrometer structures in composite and heterogeneous samples such as polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs). The non-destructive TPT technique allows the determination of three-dimensional profiles of polarization and space charge in dielectrics. The samples under study were 12 mu m thick films of a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride with trifluoroethylene P(VDF- TrFE) (65/35) with embedded liquid-crystal droplets. The poling process was performed in direct contact well above the coercive field of the copolymer. The 3D map obtained from scanning with a 10 mu m wide spot shows elliptically shaped areas with liquid-crystal droplets. Considering the droplets as oblate spheroids, their major axis lies in the x-y plane, while their minor axis in the z direction measures 0.5 mu m or more. This result is in good agreement with scanning electron micrographs. It is believed that the major axis is overestimated due to imaging of liquid-crystal clusters. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/servlet/opac?punumber=94 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TDEI.2010.5539683 SN - 1070-9878 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pham, Cong Duc A1 - Petre, Anca A1 - Berquez, Laurent A1 - Flores Suárez, Rosaura A1 - Mellinger, Axel A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Gerhard, Reimund T1 - 3D high-resolution mapping of polarization profiles in thin poly(vinylidenefluoride-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF- TrFE) films using two thermal techniques N2 - In this paper, two non-destructive thermal methods are used in order to determine, with a high degree of accuracy, three-dimensional polarization distributions in thin films (12 mu m) of poly(vinylidenefluoride- trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE). The techniques are the frequency-domain Focused Laser Intensity Modulation Method (FLIMM) and time-domain Thermal-Pulse Tomography (TPT). Samples were first metalized with grid-shaped electrode and poled. 3D polarization mapping yielded profiles which reproduce the electrode-grid shape. The polarization is not uniform across the sample thickness. Significant polarization values are found only at depths beyond 0.5 mu m from the sample surface. Both methods provide similar results, TPT method being faster, whereas the FLIMM technique has a better lateral resolution. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/servlet/opac?punumber=94 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TDEI.2009.5128505 SN - 1070-9878 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Qiu, Xunlin A1 - Gerhard, Reimund A1 - Mellinger, Axel T1 - Turning polymer foams or polymer-film systems into ferroelectrets dielectric barrier discharges in voids JF - IEEE transactions on dielectrics and electrical insulation N2 - Polymer foams and void-containing polymer-film systems with internally charged voids combine large piezoelectricity with mechanical flexibility and elastic compliance. This new class of soft materials (often called ferro-or piezoelectrets) has attracted considerable attention from science and industry. It has been found that the voids can be internally charged by means of dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) under high electric fields. The charged voids can be considered as man-made macroscopic dipoles. Depending on the ferroelectret structure and the pressure of the internal gas, the voids may be highly compressible. Consequently, very large dipole-moment changes can be induced by mechanical or electrical stresses, leading to large piezoelectricity. DBD charging of the voids is a critical process for rendering polymer foams piezoelectric. Thus a comprehensive exploration of DBD charging is essential for the understanding and the optimization of piezoelectricity in ferroelectrets. Recent studies show that DBDs in the voids are triggered when the internal electric field reaches a threshold value according to Townsend's model of Paschen breakdown. During the DBDs, charges of opposite polarity are generated and trapped at the top and bottom internal surfaces of the gas-filled voids, respectively. The deposited charges induce an electric field opposite to the externally applied one and thus extinguish the DBDs. Back discharges may eventually be triggered when the external voltage is reduced or turned off. In order to optimize the efficiency of DBD charging, the geometry (in particular the height) of the voids, the type of gas and its pressure inside the voids are essential factors to be considered and to be optimized. In addition, the influence of the plasma treatment on the internal void surfaces during the DBDs should be taken into consideration. KW - Ferroelectret KW - piezoelectret KW - dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) KW - effective polarization KW - man-made dipole Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TDEI.2011.5704490 SN - 1070-9878 VL - 18 IS - 1 SP - 34 EP - 42 PB - Inst. of Electr. and Electronics Engineers CY - Piscataway ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Flores Suárez, Rosaura A1 - Mellinger, Axel A1 - Wegener, Michael A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Gerhard, Reimund A1 - Singh, Rajeev T1 - Thermal-pulse tomography of polarization distributions in a cylindrical geometry JF - IEEE transactions on dielectrics and electrical insulation N2 - Fast, three-dimensional polarization mapping in piezoelectric sensor cables was performed by means of the novel thermal-pulse tomography (TPT) technique with a lateral resolution of 200 mum. The active piezoelectric cable material (a copolymer of polyvinylidene fluoride with trifluoroethylene) was electrically poled with a point-to-cable corona discharge. A focused laser was employed to heat the opaque outer electrode, and the short-circuit current generated by the thermal pulse was used to obtain 3D polarization maps via the scale transformation method. The article describes the TPT technique as a fast non-destructive option for studying cylindrical geometries. Y1 - 2006 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TDEI.2006.258210 SN - 1070-9878 VL - 13 IS - 5 SP - 1030 EP - 1035 PB - IEEE CY - Piscataway ER - TY - THES A1 - Mellinger, Axel T1 - Charge storage in electret polymers: mechanisms, characterization and applications T1 - Ladungsspeicherung in Elektret-Polymeren: Mechanismen, Charakterisierung und Anwendungen N2 - Electrets are materials capable of storing oriented dipoles or an electric surplus charge for long periods of time. The term "electret" was coined by Oliver Heaviside in analogy to the well-known word "magnet". Initially regarded as a mere scientific curiosity, electrets became increasingly imporant for applications during the second half of the 20th century. The most famous example is the electret condenser microphone, developed in 1962 by Sessler and West. Today, these devices are produced in annual quantities of more than 1 billion, and have become indispensable in modern communications technology. Even though space-charge electrets are widely used in transducer applications, relatively little was known about the microscopic mechanisms of charge storage. It was generally accepted that the surplus charges are stored in some form of physical or chemical traps. However, trap depths of less than 2 eV, obtained via thermally stimulated discharge experiments, conflicted with the observed lifetimes (extrapolations of experimental data yielded more than 100000 years). Using a combination of photostimulated discharge spectroscopy and simultaneous depth-profiling of the space-charge density, the present work shows for the first time that at least part of the space charge in, e.g., polytetrafluoroethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate is stored in traps with depths of up to 6 eV, indicating major local structural changes. Based on this information, more efficient charge-storing materials could be developed in the future. The new experimental results could only be obtained after several techniques for characterizing the electrical, electromechanical and electrical properties of electrets had been enhanced with in situ capability. For instance, real-time information on space-charge depth-profiles were obtained by subjecting a polymer film to short laser-induced heat pulses. The high data acquisition speed of this technique also allowed the three-dimensional mapping of polarization and space-charge distributions. A highly active field of research is the development of piezoelectric sensor films from electret polymer foams. These materials store charges on the inner surfaces of the voids after having been subjected to a corona discharge, and exhibit piezoelectric properties far superior to those of traditional ferroelectric polymers. By means of dielectric resonance spectroscopy, polypropylene foams (presently the most widely used ferroelectret) were studied with respect to their thermal and UV stability. Their limited thermal stability renders them unsuitable for applications above 50 °C. Using a solvent-based foaming technique, we found an alternative material based on amorphous Teflon® AF, which exhibits a stable piezoelectric coefficient of 600 pC/N at temperatures up to 120 °C. N2 - Elektrete sind Materialien, welche orientierte elektrische Dipole oder eine elektrische Überschussladung über längere Zeit speichern können. Der Begriff wurde 1885 von Oliver Heaviside in Anlehnung an das Wort "Magnet" eingeführt. Zunächst nur als wissenschaftliche Kuriosität betrachtet, wurden sie seit Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts in zunehmendem Maße für technische Anwendungen interessant. Als bekanntestes Beispiel sei hier das 1962 von Sessler und West entwickelte Elektret-Kondensator-Mikrofon erwähnt, welches in jährlichen Stückzahlen von mehr als 1 Milliarde hergestellt wird und aus der modernen Kommunikationstechnik nicht mehr wegzudenken ist. Trotz der weit verbreiteten Anwendungen in der Sensorik war bisher nur wenig über die mikroskopischen Mechanismen der Ladungsspeicherung bekannt. Allgemein wird davon ausgegangen, dass die Überschussladungen in physikalischen oder chemischen Haftstellen gespeichert sind. Bisherige Experimente zur thermisch stimulierten Entladung ergaben Bindungsenergien unterhalb von 2 eV, was im Widerspruch zu den beobachteten Lebensdauern (extrapoliert wurden Werte von mehr als 100000 Jahren) steht. Mittels photostimulierter Entladung sowie simultaner Messung des Ladungsprofils konnte nun für eine Reihe wichtiger Elektret-Polymere (darunter das unter dem Handelsnamen Teflon® bekannte Polytetrafluorethylen, Polypropylen und Polyethylenterephthalat) erstmals gezeigt werden, dass zumindest ein Teil der Ladungen in tiefen Haftstellen von bis zu 6 eV gespeichert wird, was auf eine tiefgreifende lokale Strukturänderung hinweist. Ausgehend von dieser Information könnten in Zukunft Materialien mit verbesserter Ladungsspeicherung gezielt entwickelt werden. Die neuen Messungen waren erst möglich, nachdem mehrere Verfahren zur Bestimmung elektrischer, elektromechanischer und mechanischer Eigenschaften von Elektreten für einen In Situ-Einsatz weiterentwickelt wurden. So konnten z. B. durch Anregung von kurzen Wärmepulsen in der Polymerfolie Informationen über das Tiefenprofil der Raumladung in Echtzeit gewonnen werden. Die schnelle Abtastung ermöglichte darüber hinaus die dreidimensionale Kartierung von Polarisationsprofilen und Raumladungen. Ein zur Zeit sehr aktives Forschungsgebiet ist die Entwicklung piezoelektrischer Sensorfolien aus geschäumten Elektret-Polymeren. Nach elektrischer Aufladung in einer Korona-Entladung werden Ladungen an der Innenseite der Gasbläschen gespeichert, wodurch das Material piezoelektrische Eigenschaften erhält, welche deutlich besser sind als die der herkömmlichen ferroelektrischen Polymere. Für die bisher gebräuchlichen Polypropylenschäume wurde neben der Temperaturstabilität mittels dielektrischer Resonanzspektroskopie auch das Verhalten unter UV-Bestrahlung untersucht. Aufgrund ihrer beschränkten thermischen Stabilität sind diese Schäume nicht für Anwendungen oberhalb von 50 °C geeignet. Mittels eines Lösungsmittel-basierten Schäumungsverfahrens wurde ein alternativer Werkstoff auf der Basis von amorphem Teflon® AF entwickelt, welcher einen stabilen piezoelektrischen Koeffizienten von 600 pC/N bei Temperaturen von bis zu 120 °C aufweist. KW - Elektret KW - Elektretfolie KW - Polymere / Physik KW - Fluorpolymere KW - Dielektrikum KW - Ladungsspeicherung KW - Ferroelektret KW - electret KW - charge storage KW - dielectrics KW - ferroelectret Y1 - 2004 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-5689 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ganesan, Lakshmi Meena A1 - Frübing, Peter A1 - Mellinger, Axel A1 - Gerhard, Reimund T1 - Dielectric relaxation behaviour of nematic liquid crystals dispersed in poly(vinylidene fluoride- trifluoroethylene) N2 - Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) are prepared from poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF- TrFE)) and a nematic liquid-crystal (LC). The anchoring effect was studied using dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. Two dispersion regions are observed in the dielectric spectra of the pure P(VDF-TrFE) film. They are related to the glass transition and to a space-charge relaxation. In PDLC films containing 10 wt% of LC, an additional, bias field-dependent relaxation peak is found that can be attributed to the motion of LC molecules. Due to the hindered movement of the LC molecules, this relaxation process is considerably slowed down, compared with the related process in the pure LC. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://iopscience.iop.org/0022-3727/ U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/42/9/092006 SN - 0022-3727 ER -