Theory of the interfacial polarization between isotropic and neutral dielectric bodies

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Abstract
It is shown that, in the case of a planar interface between two different uncharged dielectric bodies, a static difference of potential ΔΦ may be expected across the interface. This quantity is calculated by introducing the nonlinear polarization of the bodies by the surface modes previously used by van Kampen et al. in their theory of the van der Waals attraction between two dielectrics. This leads to a result inversely proportional to the third power of the thickness of the gap between the dielectrics. The proportionality coefficient involves the frequency dependent dielectric constant of the bodies as well as a higher order susceptibility describing their nonlinear (quadratic) polarization. This approach is then found to be consistent with the result of a microscopic model involving the summation of the interatomic dispersion dipole moments appearing in couples involving atoms separated by the interface.