Nanometer Scale Dielectric Fluctuations at the Glass Transition

Preprint

9 July 1998

preprint
Published by arXiv in arXiv

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.cond-mat/9807126

Abstract

Using non-contact scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques, dielectric properties were studied on 50 nanometer length scales in poly-vinyl-acetate (PVAc) films in the vicinity of the glass transition. Low frequency (1/f) noise observed in the measurements, was shown to arise from thermal fluctuations of the electric polarization. Anomalous variations observed in the noise spectrum provide direct evidence for cooperative nano-regions with heterogeneous kinetics. The cooperative length scale was determined. Heterogeneity was long-lived only well below the glass transition for faster than average processes.

Keywords

DIELECTRIC FLUCTUATIONS
DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
GLASS TRANSITION
SCALE DIELECTRIC
NANOMETER SCALE
COOPERATIVE
TRANSITION

All Related Versions

Version 1, 1998-07-09, ArXiv
Published version: Physical Review Letters, 81 (7), 1461.

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