The physical origin of negative capacitance

Abstract

The phenomenon of negative capacitance, which has been reported in a variety of situations involving electrolytic as well as electronic systems, does not appear to be understood and some tentative interpretations appear to lack plausibility. It is suggested that the physically correct approach lies in the analysis of the corresponding time-domain behaviour under step function bias, which involves a current initially falling and then rising gradually over a period of time before finally decaying to zero. This behaviour, sharply contrasting with the normal dielectric relaxation response, can be envisaged in a variety of situations, some of them involving transport phenomena.