Dielectric Composites for Naval Applications

As an integral part of the U.S. Navy's all-electric ship effort, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been developing advanced dielectrics to provide viable solutions for high energy density capacitors as well as high-dielectric-constant (K) filter capacitors. Our group at NRL has focused on ceramic and ceramic-based composite dielectrics, which are characterized by the high dielectric constant (from 200 to 4000) relative to polymer materials (typically < 5) and high breakdown strengths (> 200 kV/cm). This article details three approaches to creating high energy density and high-K-filter capacitor materials. These approaches use different processing routes to produce ceramic-based composite dielectrics and include freeze-casting, glass-ceramic, and nanocomposite technologies.