The Field of an Electric Dipole and the Polarizability of a Conducting Object Embedded in the Interface Between Dielectric Materials

Published

July 6, 2009

Author(s)

Christopher L. Holloway, Edward E. Kuester, Mohamed Mohamed, Melinda Piket-May

Abstract

In this paper, a study is made of the electrostatic potential and field of an electric dipole located {\it in} the interface between two dielectric regions. When the dipole is oriented perpendicular to the interface, the detailed position of the charges of the dipole relative to the location of the interface has a significant effect on the value of the field produced away from the dipole, unlike the case of a dipole parallel to the interface. It is shown that it is the total dipole moment (due to both free and bound charges), rather than simply the impressed (free) dipole moment that is important in determining the field in this case. Based on these results, the question of defining and determining the electric polarizability of a perfectly conducting object partially embedded in a dielectric interface is examined. The example of a conducting sphere embedded halfway in the interface is studied as a demonstration of our general formulation. The results of this paper are important for the proper modeling of arrays of scatterers embedded in an interface, such as frequency-selective surfaces (FSSs) and metafilms.

Citation

Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications (JEWAES)

Volume

16

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.2528/PIERB09050408

Keywords

electric dipole, electrostatic potential, dipole-moment, polarizability

Citation

Holloway, C. , Kuester, E. , Mohamed, M. and Piket-May, M. (2009), The Field of an Electric Dipole and the Polarizability of a Conducting Object Embedded in the Interface Between Dielectric Materials, Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications (JEWAES), [online], https://doi.org/10.2528/PIERB09050408 (Accessed April 25, 2024)