Dielectric Phenomena in Solids

2.4 Classification of Dielectric Materials

Dielectric materials may be classified into two major categories: nonferroelectric (or normal dielectric or paraelectric) materials and ferroelectric materials. The former may be divided into three classes, as the following sections show.

2.4.1 Nonferroelectric Materials (Normal Dielectric or Paraelectric Materials)

In materials of this category, electric polarization is actuated by external electric fields. Based on the mechanisms of electric polarization, we have three classes: nonpolar, polar, and dipolar materials.

Nonpolar Materials

In materials of this class, an electric field can cause only elastic displacement of electron clouds (mainly valence electron clouds), so they have only electronic ...