Jurnal Pendidikan Fisika dan Teknologi Volume 4 No.2, Desember 2018 269 EFFECT OF GAMMA IRRADIATION ON DIELECTRIC PERMITIVITY OF POLYMER (PVA-CH) FILM Susilawati*, Aris Doyan Physics Education Program, University of Mataram *Email: susilawatihambali@unram.ac.id Abstract - The objectives of this study are to investigate the effects of radiation on dielectric properties of PVA-CH films. Polymer (PVA-CH) films were irradiated with Gamma ray at 12 kGy. Polymer film containing PVA (poly Vinyl Alcohol) and Chloral Hydrate (CH) has been prepared by solution casting technique. The obtained polymer composite layers were irradiated with γ – rays at various doses to investigate the radiation effect on dielectric permittivity in the frequency range of 20 Hz – 1 MHz at room temperatures. The real (ε’) and imaginary (ε”) dielectric constant are found to increase with increase in irradiation dose. Keywords: Dielectric Permitivity, Gamma Irradiation, Polymer Film INTRODUCTION PVA is a polymer, which has been investigated by many researchers and is known for many applications in industrial products due to its excellent mechanical strength, bio-compatibility, electrochemical stability, high tensile strength and abrasion resistance. Pure PVA is known for its good insulating polymer property with low conductivity and low dielectric loss, therefore it is of primary importance in microelectronic industry (Shekar et al, 1999). The electrical conduction and charge-storage capacity of PVA film blended with chlorine containing organic compounds CH (Chloral Hydrate) can be markedly increased by radiation. This solid electrolyte has electrical properties quite similar with the ionic conducting polymer electrolytes, which is useful for many electrochemical devices. Investigation of electrical conduction in polymers is aimed at understanding the nature of charge transport, while investigation of dielectric loss is aimed at understanding the polarization properties of molecules of the polymer. Every organic material such as polymers shows great dose response to ionizing radiation. Hence, interaction between polymer and ionizing radiation produces radiation effects in the form of physical and chemical changes, which are dose dependent. The irradiated polymer may be useful as solid electrolytes potentially to be used in many applications such as cellular phones, laptop computers, rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, super capacitors and gas sensors. Radiation can cause cross-linking, grafting and scission in polymer, which modify the amorphous structure leading to an increase of the ionic conductivity and a change in the electrochemical property. The irradiated polymer may be useful as solid electrolytes potentially to be used in many applications such as cellular phones, laptop computers, rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, super capacitors and gas sensors. The dielectric properties of heterogeneous disorder systems of polymer play important role in device applications such as chemical sensors, fuel cells, solid- state batteries, etc. When an electric field is applied across polymer placed between two electrodes, the electrical response can be described by the complex permittivity consists of the real dielectric constant and the imaginary dielectric loss (Mott and Davis, 1979). The dielectric constant is a parameter that describes the material ability to store charge due to polarizations, thus can give