Space charge characterization for the 21th century

TLDR

The study reviews and tests methods for predicting insulating material failure by linking dielectric breakdown to space charge trapping at defect sites and lattice energetics. The authors survey space charge data across polymers, crystals, and ceramics, and evaluate whether breakdown is governed by intrinsic critical fields or by trapping at defect sites. Charging behavior depends on surface condition and residual stresses, indicating that careful characterization is required but may become predictive with further research.

Abstract

Various methods of characterizing insulating materials by their ability to take up charge, retain it, and release it, are reviewed critically in search of measurable quantities that could be used to predict material behavior under stress up to failure conditions. Space charge characterization data on different types of materials from polymers to inorganic single crystals and ceramics are surveyed. The charging behavior is found to be influenced by many details such as surface condition and residual stresses. The traditional approach of linking dielectric breakdown to an intrinsic critical field for the material is tested against the newly emerging view that breakdown could be linked to space charge trapping at defect sites and to the attendant energetics of the mechanically strained lattice. The characterization process thus requires more care than was previously thought necessary, but after more research should become more predictive.