Experiment and simulation of space charge suppression in LDPE/MgO nanocomposite under external DC electric field

In this paper, space charge dynamics under DC electric field of −100 kV/mm in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and its nanocomposite containing a small amount of MgO nanoparticles were measured using an improved pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) system. Unlike negative packet-like space charge accumulating in LDPE films, no remarkable space charge was observed in LDPE/MgO nanocomposite films, which indicated that the introduction of MgO nanoparticles played a key role on the space charge suppression. Different with current qualitative models, this paper describes space charge suppression on the basis of simulation using the bipolar charge transport model, which featured bipolar charges injection, transport, trapping, recombination, and extraction process. It was shown from the simulation that trap depth, trap concentration, local electric field and charge injection barrier height were all significant factors on the space charge suppression process. A deeper trap depth in LDPE/MgO nanocomposites made it easier for traps to capture mobile carriers. And a larger trap concentration effectively slowed down the whole carrier movement although there seemed a trap concentration threshold less than 30 Cm⁻³, above which this effect became slight. In addition, both the high permittivity of LDPE/MgO nanocomposites and low local electric field in the vicinity of cathode led to a larger injection barrier height based on the Schottky injection law, which would tremendously block the charge injection. At last, the suppression mechanism of space charge formation in the LDPE/MgO nanocomposites is presented.     

Effect of humidity in charge formation and transport in LDPE

Charge distribution and transport have been investigated in LDPE films with different humidity content under electric fields up to 130 MV/m. Pulsed electroacoustic measurements showed that, as water content increases, positive charge packets formation in the anode is enhanced and they propagate toward the cathode with higher transit speeds. Fits of surface potential decay measurements showed that charges in dry samples are injected directly into the volume, but the presence of moisture generates new trap centers in the surface of the material. This new trap level causes a charge accumulation on the surface, that gradually passes into the bulk. The observed behavior in development and propagation of charge packets are explained according to these results. Thermally stimulated depolarization current measurements showed a non-distributed relaxation associated to the new trap levels on the surface of the wet samples.     

Analysis of microscopic parameters of surface charging in polymer caused by defocused electron beam irradiation

The relationship between microscopic parameters and polymer charging caused by defocused electron beam irradiation is investigated using a dynamic scattering-transport model. The dynamic charging process of an irradiated polymer using a defocused 30 keV electron beam is conducted. In this study, the space charge distribution with a 30 keV non-penetrating e-beam is negative and supported by some existing experimental data. The internal potential is negative, but relatively high near the surface, and it decreases to a maximum negative value at z = 6 μm and finally tend to 0 at the bottom of film. The leakage current and the surface potential behave similarly, and the secondary electron and leakage currents follow the charging equilibrium condition. The surface potential decreases with increasing beam current density, trap concentration, capture cross section, film thickness and electron–hole recombination rate, but with decreasing electron mobility and electron energy. The total charge density increases with increasing beam current density, trap concentration, capture cross section, film thickness and electron–hole recombination rate, but with decreasing electron mobility and electron energy. This study shows a comprehensive analysis of microscopic factors of surface charging characteristics in an electron-based surface microscopy and analysis.     

用光刺激放电法研究纳米粉末掺杂低密度聚乙烯中陷阱能级

通过光刺激放电(PSD)技术研究了纳米粉末掺杂低密度聚乙烯(LDPE)中的陷阱能级.利用连续扫描法得到了不同掺杂比例的Al₂O₃,MgO纳米粉末掺杂试样以及相同掺杂比例的多种纳米粉末掺杂试样的PSD电流谱,定性地得出了试样陷阱能级的深浅变化.分步扫描法定量地描述了LDPE试样在Al₂O₃纳米掺杂前后陷阱能量分布的变化.结果表明,掺杂比例大于0.2%的Al₂O₃纳米粉末掺杂、大于0.5%的MgO纳米粉末掺杂能够显著地使得LDPE陷阱能级变深.结合纳米掺杂对LDPE空间电荷注入影响的相关报道,可推测纳米掺杂对空间电荷注入的抑制与试样中陷阱能级变深存在密切的关联.     

Chemically sprayed ZnO:(F,Zr) thin films: Effect of starting solution ageing time and substrate temperature on the physical properties

Conductive and transparent fluorine and zirconium co-doped zinc oxide [ZnO:(F, Zr)] thin films have been deposited onto sodocalcic glass substrates by the chemical spray technique. The effects of starting solution ageing time and the substrate temperature on the transport, structural, and morphological properties of as-deposited ZnO:(F, Zr) thin films are presented in this paper. A decrease in the electrical resistivity values is observed as the starting solution used is more aged, reaching a minimum resistivity of the order of 1.3×10^?2 Ω cm in samples deposited from a 17-day-aged solution, then increasing in samples deposited from solutions aged beyond this ageing time. According to the characterization results, the surface morphology is dependent on the solution ageing time. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the ZnO:(F, Zr) thin films are polycrystalline in nature, fitting well with a hexagonal wurtzite structure, and showing the (0 0 2) planes as preferential growth in all the deposited films. The average optical transmittance, measured in the near UV–visible region, was of the order of 75% in all the cases.     

Synthesis of Si nanoparticles with narrow size distribution by pulsed laser ablation

We synthesized Si nanoparticles by pulsed nanosecond-laser ablation. We applied a positive voltage bias during laser irradiation and effectively reduced size distribution. Scanning electron micrographs of samples showed the nanoparticles to be highly non-agglomerated. Si nanoparticles have the average diameter of 4–5 nm, the geometrical standard deviation of 1.35, and the density of 1.6 × 10¹²/cm². A MOS device showed excellent charge trap behavior with a flat-band voltage shift over 7 V, which can be applied for memory device applications.     

Transient dynamics of packet-like space charge in low-density polyethylene at high temperatures

Among features observed in polyethylene-based materials under high fields, packet-like space charge are frequently reported but without complete theory explaining their formation and propagation. The present contribution reports transient dynamics of packet-like space charge in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) under multi-field coupling conditions based on pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) method. The measurements were carried out under −125 kV/mm at 20 °C, 40 °C, and 60 °C. Space charge results reveal systematic occurrence of positive packet-like space charge in all samples generated at the anode and then moved toward the cathode. It is observed that higher temperatures contribute to the migration of packet-like space charge and field distortion. Based on the detailed injection model of packet-like space charge, it is shown that electrode injection plays a major role in the formation of positive packet-like space charge, the total amount and depth not only depend on the temperature, but also the negative charges dynamics. Packet-like space charge phenomena at different temperatures still feature NDM relationship with the nonlinear increase of migrate velocity as the rise of temperature.     

High efficiency on-chip charge pump DC–DC converter for LCD drivers

An on-chip charge pump (CP) DC–DC converter applicable to potable displays is described. A merged 2×/3× booster eligible for both single-phase pumping and dual-phase pumping is developed. A closed-loop sensing scheme with analog/digital mixed-mode voltage regulation helps to ensure a low ripple output voltage and high power transfer efficiency. A test vehicle was implemented for a DC input range of 2.2–3.6 V and the DC output of 5 V with a load condition of 20 mA in a standard 0.35-μm 2poly-4metal CMOS process. The test results reveal output ripple of less than 80 mV and efficiency of 77.4% in the 2× dual phase mode.     

聚合物材料空间电荷陷阱模型及参数

采用电声脉冲测量技术研究了直流电场下低密度聚乙烯材料的电荷入陷和脱陷特征. 发现在不同电场周期下样品的电荷衰减呈现不同的特征, 为此提出了一个简单的基于两陷阱水平的入陷和脱陷模型, 并计算了相应的参数, 如陷阱能级和密度. 确定了不含任何添加剂的低密度聚乙烯样品中存在的两种水平的陷阱能级分别为: 较浅陷阱能级0.77–0.81 eV 对应的浅陷阱电荷密度为(1.168–1.553)× 10¹⁹ m^-3; 较深陷阱能级0.96–1.01 eV 对应的深陷阱电荷密度为(1.194–4.615)× 10¹⁸ m^-3. 最后初步验证了材料的深陷阱能级和对应的深陷阱电荷密度随老化而增加, 可考虑将模型中的两能级陷阱参数作为老化诊断特征参量. 关键词： 聚合物 空间电荷 陷阱 老化     

Pre-stressing effect on DC breakdown in low-density polyethylene

Polyethylene is widely used in electrical wires and power cables. The pre-stressing effect, which restricts the applications of polyethylene, has not yet been investigated in depth. We studied the breakdown of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films pre-stressed by direct current (DC) electric field. The results showed some conformity, as reported in many other papers, that the DC breakdown strength E_B+ with the same polarity to that of the pre-stressing field was higher than the DC breakdown strength E_B of thin LDPE films without pre-stressing, while the DC breakdown strength E_B? with the opposite polarity was lower than E_B. Such phenomena could be explained by the hetero effects of accumulating space charges, which enhanced the electrical field when the polarity was reversed. However, as a further increase in pre-stressing electrical field, both E_B+ and E_B? were found higher than E_B. We investigated the space charge behavior in LDPE films and found that when applied with a higher electrical field, space charge packet initialized and traveled through the specimen. The results suggest that the space charge packet behavior may contribute to the pre-stressing effects on electrical breakdown in LDPE films.     

Oxidation of Mg and electron transfer processes

Results of a study of the modification in electron capture processes during the oxidation of metal surfaces are presented by the example of O^δ- formation in oxygen ion/atom scattering. Measurements of scattered-ion fractions were made for a clean Mg surface, which was then exposed to O₂ and also MgO(100). It was found that a strong increase in capture occurs with increasing oxygen coverages from the submonolayer range to very high coverages corresponding to oxide formation. At low coverages these changes are interpreted as resulting from competing local effects at oxygen chemisorption sites and non-local effects corresponding to work function changes. The results for high exposures are similar to what was observed for the MgO(100) crystal. Here scattering on an ionic solid is discussed and non-resonant electron capture on the O^δ− site has to be considered after inclusion of level shifts in the Madelung field. Here a sequence of collisions, or sufficiently close approaches to O^δ− sites, resulting in non-resonant charge transfer, can lead to a build up the O⁻ population even if the capture probability at a given site is low.     

A 48% Ni–Fe alloy of low coercivity and improved corrosion resistance in a cyclic damp heat test

Electric arc 30t melts, deoxidised with Mn and Si, are compared to melts additionally deoxidised with cerium. In a cyclic damp heat test the melts with Ce show better corrosion behaviour. μ₄ (DC) and H_c of samples of 1.0 mm thickness after heat treatment at 1080°C vary in the same range of values for both categories of melts. After heat treatment at 1080°C or 1180°C μ₄ (50 Hz) and H_c of samples of 0.2 mm thickness are impaired by 20% or more for melts with Ce. For melts with Ce the strong binding of the sulphur to the deoxidiser impedes desulphurization. With small strip thicknesses, the strong binding energy of Ce to oxygen causes additional internal oxidation during heat treatment . Both deteriorate the magnetic properties. At the larger thickness of 1.0 mm there is no noticeable internal oxidation and/or desulphurization in both categories of melt due to the strip thickness.     

Surface potential decay of DC-corona-charged PET films on humid electrodes

Surface potential decay measurement is a widely used tool to test the electrical properties of insulation materials. The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the effect of a humid electrode on the surface potential decay process. The experiments are performed on 1-mm thick samples of PET films (50 mm × 50 mm) in ambient air (temperature: 25 °C–29 °C; relative humidity: 42%–48%). The samples are placed on a grounded humid electrode (aluminum plate covered by a humid textile: 52 mm × 52 mm), and are charged by exposing them for 10 s to the negative DC corona discharge generated by a high-voltage wire-type dual electrode.The results show that the humid electrode has a significant influence on the surface potential evolution during the first moments after corona charging. Bipolar charge injection is the main physical mechanism that explains this potential decay.     

Electret properties of ethylene–propylene random co-polymer

Thermally stimulated current (TSC) spectra were examined for ethylene–propylene (EP) random co-polymer at different charging voltages V_p with positive and negative polarities. Observed TSC spectra showed two well-separated TSC bands, B_L and B_H, which respectively appeared in the temperature regions below and above 100 °C. Observed V_p dependence of B_L was quite different from that of typical polypropylene homo-polymer: As V_p increased, B_L band grew keeping its peak position same at 65 °C, and the band shape unchanged, as if the traps responsible for the B_L band are a single set of traps with the same trap depth and capture cross section. The trap depth of B_L was about 1.9 eV and 1.7 eV for positively charged EP and talc-containing EP samples, respectively. EP samples also showed unique TSC bands above 100 °C: one is a narrow TSC band peaked at 120 °C and the other is an unusual TSC band which was non-vanishing even at 165 °C just before destruction of samples by their melting. Consequently, the utmost stable charge density in EP co-polymer above 100 °C was found to be 3.5 × 10^?4 C/m² and 6.0 × 10 ^?4 C/m² for positively and negatively charged samples, respectively. These equivalent surface charge densities are much larger than those of usual polypropylene homo-polymer.     

Use of ultrasound at a pilot scale to accelerate the ageing of sherry vinegar

In the present work, the accelerated ageing process of sherry vinegar has been studied at pilot scale by means of the joint application of ultrasound, micro-oxygenation and wood chips (American oak, French oak and Spanish oak). The CIELab parameters have been studied as well as the polyphenolic and volatile content of the aged vinegar samples. Vinegars aged with American oak presented different chromatic characteristics to those aged with French and Spanish oak and a lower polyphenolic and volatile content than the latter ones. On the other hand, Spanish oak generated vinegars with a higher content of volatile compounds and an intermediate polyphenolic profile between those obtained using French and American oak. In addition, the use of ultrasound for a period between 4 and 21 days, generated vinegars with similar characteristics to others that were aged in the traditional way for between 2 and 6 months. It has been demonstrated that the use of ultrasound, combined with micro-oxygenation and chip addition, is a technique which can accelerate the ageing process of vinegars at a pilot scale, so it could be a viable alternative to obtain sherry vinegars aged in a shorter time.     

Relation between T c and the defect structure of neodymium cerium cuprite Nd2−x CexCuO4−y

Neutron powder diffraction has been used to study the defect structure of neodymium cerium cuprite Nd_2−x Ce_xCuO_4±y (x=0.15). It has been shown that in addition to oxygen vacancies, O2 sites in superconducting samples may also contain a small quantity of implanted oxygen atoms positioned between copper ions and neodymium/cerium, which control the electrical charge in the Cu-O planes. The oxygen distribution among crystal lattice sites in Nd_2−x Ce_xCuO_4±y (x=0.15) as determined, the average charge of the copper ions was calculated by the method of valence sums, and a correlation was established between the charge of the copper-oxygen plane and T _c. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 177–183 (February 1998)     

Luminescent and dosimetric properties of ultrafine magnesium oxide ceramics after high dose irradiation

The luminescent and dosimetric properties of ultrafine MgO ≿eramics synthesized in strongly reducing conditions at Т = 1100–1400 °С are investigated. The growth of photo- and cathodoluminescence output at 2.0–3.5 eV (400–600 nm) is found. It is due to an increase in concentration of single oxygen vacancies and their aggregates. It was established that thermal treatment leads to TL intensity growth after high dose irradiation of the samples by a pulsed electron beam (130 keV). The tunneling mechanism of charge carriers' recombination occurs after this treatment as well. The presence of tunneling recombination is proved by the analysis of the shape and temperature dependence of TL isothermal decay curves. The possibility of using synthesized ceramics for high dose TL dosimetry of ionizing radiations is shown.     

The influence of nonpolar organics adsorption on the electrochemical behaviour of powdered activated carbon electrodes in aqueous electrolytes

Adsorption and electrochemical studies were carried out on three activated carbon samples first oxidized, then heat-treated under vacuum (at 180, 500 and 900 °C). The investigations were performed with aqueous electrolyte (Na₂HPO₄ and H₃PO₄) solutions containing selected nonpolar organics (benzene and n-hexane). Adsorption measurements were carried out on solution with a wide range of organics concentration (up to saturation point). Cyclovoltammetric curves of powdered electrodes prepared from the activated carbon samples were recorded for the organics in saturated solutions. The electric double layer capacities of the anodic and cathodic parts were estimated, and the surface anodic and cathodic charge was calculated both in absence and presence of organics in the electrochemical systems. The relative surface charge (in relation to systems without organics) was found to decrease with a reduction in the concentration of surface oxygen-containing groups. Other physicochemical parameters characterizing the degree of surface oxidation (total oxygen concentration, primary water adsorption centres) were also taken into consideration. The correlation between adsorption capacity towards the nonpolar organic compounds (obtained from adsorption isotherms) and change of surface charge was analyzed.     

Scintillation kinetics and thermoluminescence of SrI2:Eu2+ single crystals

Single crystal of strontium iodide doped with 1% europium (SrI₂:1% Eu²⁺) was grown by Vertical Gradient Freeze technique. UV excited emission spectra were studied as a function of temperature. Results indicate the thermal quenching of Eu²⁺ emission starts from ～400 K with a thermal activation energy of 0.39 eV. Gamma and UV excited decay measurements indicate that the scintillation decay time of SrI₂:Eu²⁺ is longer than the lifetime of Eu²⁺ luminescence center in the SrI₂ host. The thermoluminescence glow curve revealed a highly concentrated charge carrier trap at 50 K. Elimination of this trap is expected to enhance the energy migration of charge carriers and result in faster scintillation decay.