Effects of Excess Charge Density on Dielectric Breakdown in Solids.

摘要

After consideration of the available experimental evidence and an examination of the previously proposed models of electric breakdown in solid dielectrics, it appears that the model (proposed by Budenstein) for the formation of a hot, high pressure gas channel within the dielectric prior to breakdown conduction more nearly describes the conditions occurring during breakdown. This paper considers the formation of a gas within a solid dielectric under high electrical stress. A possible sequence of reactions in alkali halide materials is presented. To provide further perspective on the energetics of bond disruption (gas formation), a calculation of the ground state energy of the doubly negative hydrogen molecular ion is made. This calculation shows that this state is strongly repulsive and the calculation gives a scale of distance for electron interactions with molecular states. The ground state energies of the neutral hydrogen molecule and the He-He system are also calculated with the wavefunction chosen for the doubly negative ion as a check on the accuracy of the energy calculations and for comparison with the doubly negative ion energy. The results of these calculations are applied to the breakdown problem to show that a localized excess charge density can cause bond disruption under the proper conditions and lead to the formation of a gas within the dielectric. (Author)