Surface defect enhancement of local electric fields in dielectric media

Surface localized defects represent a special class of microstructure in dielectric films. Whereas inhomogeneous media are often classified by volume fractions of their constituents, determinations of the local electric field require both microstructural definition and specific electric interaction among defect sites. Herein, we have used a finite element method to determine the local electric field for surface defects in dielectric films. The local electric field is both enhanced and focused in regions about the surface localized defect site. The resulting surface intensities exhibit a much broader range of magnitudes than accomodated by effective medium approximation and random resistor methods.