A recently developed theory of atomic-scale local dielectric permittivity has been used to determine the position dependent permittivity profiles of a few nanoscale insulator surfaces and multilayers. Specifically, slabs containing single-component (Si, polymer, and ${\mathrm{SiO}}_2$) and two-component ($\mathrm{Si}\text{−}{\mathrm{SiO}}_2$ and polymer-${\mathrm{SiO}}_2$) systems of technological importance have been studied. The present approach indicates that the local permittivity is generally enhanced at the surfaces and/or interfaces, and that it approaches the corresponding bulk values in the interior of each component. This simple method of determining the position-dependent dielectric permittivity profiles can be used to study the impact of atomic level disorder and defects on dielectric properties.

• Received 17 February 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.74.045318