Comparison of Various Types of Electrodes for Dielectric Frequency Response Measurements on Thin Films

Paper in proceeding, 2025

This study evaluates the influence of electrode fabrication techniques on dielectric loss measurements in polymeric films using dielectric frequency response (DFR). Samples of two commonly used polymers, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP), were prepared with both gold-evaporated and silver-painted electrodes, and tanδ measurements were conducted across a wide frequency range. In both materials, silver paint introduced comparable additional losses. However, due to PET's higher intrinsic loss factor, the impact of these added losses was minor, resulting in minimal deviation between electrode types. In contrast, for PPcharacterized by much lower intrinsic losses-the influence of silver paint was clearly evident, particularly at low frequencies. These findings underscore the importance of electrode preparation for accurate characterization of materials with very low dielectric losses and highlight the limitations of silver painting for DFR measurements in such cases. For materials with higher losses, however, silver paint remains a practical and effective alternative, though potential interactions with the material should still be considered.