Lattice and carrier contributions to the dielectric polarization of stearic acid multilayer films

Dielectric measurements over eight decades of frequency and over a wide temperature range are reported on stearic acid multilayers sandwiched between metallic electrodes. The thickness of samples varied from a monolayer to 25 layers and significant differences of behaviour are reported. We suggest that the data may be interpreted in terms of separate contributions to dielectric polarization arising from the dipolar ‘lattice’ response, due to the COOH groups, and also from the presence of hopping electronic carriers injected from the electrodes.