Eur. Phys. J. B 66, 217-221 (2008)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2008-00416-2

On the harmonic analysis of non-linear dielectric effects

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287-1604, USA

Corresponding author: ^a ranko@asu.edu

Received: 18 July 2008
Revised: 26 September 2008
Published online: 14 November 2008

Abstract

We investigate the nonlinear dielectric effects in a polar viscous liquid, propylene carbonate, by analyzing the voltage and current traces obtained for a sinusoidal electric field at a frequency of 1 kHz and field amplitudes as high as 162 kV/cm. The main source of non-linear behavior results from the energy absorbed from the field and is understood quantitatively. However, there is a qualitative difference in the behavior of the field induced change, Δε^′′(E), and the third harmonic amplitude of the current, I_3ω. Although both Δε^′′(E) and I_3ω are considered reliable measures of non-linear behavior, we show here that the third harmonic signal reflects only those non-linear responses that are instantaneous on the time scale of the test frequency.