Comparison between three measurement methods for characterizing the charge state of granular insulating materials

Surface potential decay method has been frequently used to characterize the charge state of insulating materials. The present paper aims at a critical evaluation of this method when used for the characterization of granular plastics, by comparing it with the electric field monitoring by means of non-contact vibrating probes, and with the measurement of the charge induced in a capacitive probe connected to a Coulomb-meter. The experiments were performed on corona-charged polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyamide, and acetyl – butadiene – styrene granular materials. The experimental results show that surface potential decays faster than the electric field or the charge measured with the capacitive probe. The dimensions of the probes and the capacitive coupling between them and the samples, may explain this difference. Part of the potential decay measured by the smaller-size probe of the electrostatic voltmeter is due to the surface conduction, while the measurements made with the larger-size electric field and capacitive probes are less affected by this phenomenon.     

Corona charging of granular layers of insulating particles at the surface of a grounded electrode

The aim of the present paper is to introduce a simple experimental technique for estimating the corona charging conditions of insulating granules that form a layer at the surface of the grounded electrode of roll-type electrostatic separators. The basic idea consists in measuring the potential at any point on the surface of this layer by means of an electrostatic probe. The capacity of the probe–layer system being constant, the measured potential is proportional to the charge. The results clearly show that the charges imparted to the particles in the corona discharge depend on their positions at the surface of the electrode and on the inter-electrode spacing. This observation could be of use, for instance, to particle charging simulations performed as a preliminary step of any feasibility study of new electrostatic separation applications.     

Two-dimensional residual charge density distribution measurement of surface leader

The charge density distribution of the surface leader has never been measured before. Because the surface leader usually covers a long distance, and the surface potential caused by leader discharge is usually very high, this creates difficulties in measuring the potential distribution of the surface leader. In this paper, with a feedback type electrostatic probe based on a field-nullify technique, a charge density distribution scanning system is developed. A two-layer structure pipe is designed to lower the surface potential after discharge. In this way, the surface potential distribution caused by the residual charge of the leader discharge under the application voltage as high as to 40 kV can be measured. The surface charge density distribution including the leader and streamer is perfectly measured, which is in good agreement with the photograph.     

Investigation of layers’ properties using brush discharge: Mobility of charge carriers in the layer is zero

This work is mainly based on the paper “R. Rinkunas, S. Kuskevicius, A contactless method of resistance measurement, Tech. Phys., 59 (2009) 133–137”. This paper contains a proposed contact less method for measuring resistivity of various materials, as well as various ambient parameters related to resistivity, e.g., humidity, intensity of illumination, sample thickness, etc. The mentioned paper describes experimental applications of the proposed method for measuring resistances in the range from 10⁷ Ω to 10¹³ Ω.In this work, a model of the method proposed previously is presented. On the basis of that model, it has been determined that during charging of an insulating layer of a material (on whose surface the deposited ions are immobile), the charge flux becomes wider as it approaches the surface of the insulator. For example, the diameter of the charge flow region may increase from 0.2 mm (near the needle tip) up to 2 cm near the surface of the insulator. [Those numbers correspond to the distance h = 1 mm between the needle and the substrate, insulating layer thickness 40 μm and needle–substrate voltage of 4000 V. A change of those parameters would cause a change of the size of the spot on the layer surface].It has been determined experimentally that resistance of the air gap between the needle and the substrate is linearly dependent only on h, whereas the electromotive force, which is responsible for the electric current from the needle to the substrate, also depends only on h.The radial coordinate of the points where the gradient of the electric charge density is largest is equal to h/2 (a zero radial coordinate corresponds to the point that is directly below the needle).During transfer of charge carriers from the needle onto the surface of the insulating layer, the largest potential is obtained at the point corresponding to radial coordinate r = 0, but this potential is still smaller than the electromotive force that causes electric current in the circuit (i.e., the difference between the power supply voltage and the voltage on the capacitor formed by the needle and the substrate, when no charge has been deposited yet).The time dependence of charging current and of the potential difference between the needle and the substrate is not monotonic: at first the current increases, then it begins to decrease, and the potential difference at first decreases, then it begins to increase. The initial parts of those dependences can be explained by the “breakdown” of the capacitor formed by the needle and the substrate, and the subsequent time dependence is determined by the increase of the insulating layer potential due to accumulation of charge on it.     

Microscopic view of charge injection in an organic semiconductor

We have measured the chemical potential and capacitance in a disordered organic semiconductor by electric force microscopy, following the electric field and interfacial charge density microscopically as the semiconductor undergoes a transition from Ohmic to space-charge limited conduction. Electric field and charge density at the metal-organic interface are inferred from the chemical potential and current. The charge density at this interface increases with electric field much faster than is predicted by the standard diffusion-limited thermionic emission theories.     

一个非晶InGaZnO薄膜晶体管线性区陷阱态的提取方法

非晶InGaZnO(a-IGZO)薄膜在制备过程中形成的缺陷和弱键以陷阱态的形式非均匀分布在a-IGZO的带隙中, 这些陷阱态会俘获栅压诱导的电荷, 影响a-IGZO薄膜晶体管线性区迁移率、沟道电子浓度等, 进而影响线性区的电学性能. 本文基于线性区沟道迁移率与沟道内的自由电荷与总电荷的比值成正比, 分离出自由电荷以及陷阱态电荷. 由转移特性和电容电压特性得到自由电荷以及陷阱态电荷对表面势的微分, 分离出自由电子浓度和陷阱态浓度. 通过对沟道层与栅绝缘层界面运用泊松方程以及高斯定理, 考虑了沟道表面势与栅压的非均匀性关系, 得出自由电子浓度以及陷阱态浓度与表面势的关系, 最后通过陷阱态浓度与表面势求导得到线性区对应的态密度.     

The surface potential of insulating thin films negatively charged by a low-energy focused electron beam

We report on the surface potential characteristics in the equilibrium state of the grounded insulating thin films of several 100 nm thickness negatively charged by a low-energy (<5 keV) focused electron beam, which have been simulated with a newly developed two-dimensional self-consistent model incorporating electron scattering, charge transport and charge trapping. The obtained space charge is positive and negative within and outside the region, respectively, where the electron and hole densities are greater than the trap density. Thus, the surface potential is relatively high around the center, then it decreases to a maximum negative value and finally tends to zero along the radial direction. The position of the maximum value is far beyond the range of e-beam irradiation as a consequence of electron scattering and charge transport. Moreover, a positive electric field can be generated near the surface in both radial and axial directions. The surface potential at center exhibits a maximum negative value in the condition of the ～2 keV energy non-penetrating e-beam in this work, which is supported by some existing experimental data in scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the surface potential decreases with the increase in beam current, trap density and film thickness, but with the decrease in electron mobility.     

Surface electroluminescence phenomena correlated with trapping parameters of insulating polymers

Electroluminescence (EL) phenomena are closely linked to the space charge and degradation in insulating polymers, and dominated by the luminescence and trap centers. EL emission has been promising in defining the onset of electrical aging and in the investigation of dissipation mechanisms. Generally, polymeric degradation reveals the increment of the density of luminescence and trap centers, so a fundamental study is proposed to correlate the EL emission of insulating polymers and their trapping parameters. A sensitive photon counting system is constructed to detect the weak EL. The time- and phase-resolved EL characteristics from different polymers (LDPE, PP and PTFE) are investigated with a planar electrode configuration under stepped ac voltage in vacuum. In succession, each sample is charged with exposing to multi-needle corona discharge, and then its surface potential decay is continuously recorded at a constant temperature. Based on the isothermal relaxation current theory, the energy level and density of both electron and hole trap distribution in the surface layer of each polymer is obtained. It is preliminarily concluded that EL phenomena are strongly affected by the trap properties, and for different polymers, its EL intensity is in direct contrast to its surface trap density, and this can be qualitatively explained by the trapping and detrapping sequence of charge carriers in trap centers with different energy level.     

Ab-initio calculation of the electronic structure and energetics of the unreconstructed Au(001) surface

The electronic structure, surface and relaxation energies, and the electric field gradient for the unreconstructed Au(001) surface were calculated by means of the ab-initio all-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane wave slab method. The valence states were calculated within the standard semi-relativistic approach whereas the core states are treated in a fully relativistic way. The Au(001) surface was modelled by free slabs of 5, 7, and 9 layers. From the 9-layer calculation a work function of 5.39 eV was obtained. For the surface energy a value of 1.30 J/m² for the unrelaxed geometry was derived from the total energies of the 7- and the 9-layer slabs. From total energy minimization of the 7-layer slab, a negative, inward relaxation of −2.6% and a relaxation energy of 14.3 × 10⁻³ J/m² were derived. To discuss a mechanism of reconstruction, particular surface states were analyzed in detail in terms of the band structure, layer-dependent density of states and the charge density distribution. Differences of surface and central-layer charge densities show a gain of charge in z-direction localised below and also, to a smaller extent, above the surface atoms. We find a very small gain of delocalised charge in the surface plane between the nearest neighbour positions at the expense of more localised s-d hybridised states. The electric field gradient component Φ_zz was obtained in a two energy window calculation for which the Au5p states were also treated as band states. The resulting Φ_zz values are −16.50 × 10¹⁷ V/cm² surface layer, and −3.3 × 10¹⁷ V/cm² for the subsurface layer.     

DFT studies of surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy of 1,4‐benzenedithiol–Au2 complex under the effect of static electric fields

In this work, we demonstrate that the applied electric‐field strength and orientation can multiply modulate the Raman intensity and vibrational wavenumber of small molecule–metal complex, 1,4‐benzenedithiol–Au₂ (1,4BDT–Au₂), by density functional theory and time‐dependent density functional theory simulations. The polarizabilities are changed by the applied electric fields, leading to enhanced specific vibrational intensity and shifted vibrational wavenumber of the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering effect. The applied electric fields perturb the bonds and angles of the 1,4BDT–Au₂ complex. Owing to this reason, the peaks of Raman spectra related to these structures exhibit distinguishable responses in quasi‐static field (low‐frequency oscillating electric field). We use the visualized method of charge difference density to show that the electric fields tune the traditional excited state to pure charge‐transfer excited state. The charge‐transfer resonance transition produces enhanced Raman intensities for non‐totally symmetric modes and totally symmetric modes. These simulation results of the function of static electric field provide new guidance for the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering measurements. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Probe Measurements of Wave Fluctuations Excited in Glow Discharges

Fluctuations of the electric field, the charged particle density, the electron temperature and the plasma potential are simultaneously measured by a probe in the positive column of helium glow discharge at a few torr gas pressure by exciting a small amplitude ionization wave. It is proposed that these values can be determined by analyzing the probe current.     

Probe Measurements of Wave Fluctuations Excited in Glow Discharges

Fluctuations of the electric field, the charged particle density; the electron temperature and the plasma potential are simultaneously measured by a probe in the positive column of helium glow discharge at a few torr gas pressure by exciting a small amplitude ionization wave. It is proposed that these values can be determined by analyzing the probe current.     

Surface electrostatic potential of inn epitaxial layers and its changes during anodic oxidization

An estimation carried out via scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) confirms that valleys on the initial surface of n-type InN layers correspond to a decrease in electrostatic potential by at least several millivolts. At the same time, surfaces subjected to anodic oxidization (the oxide thickness is no less than 10 nm) do not support this correspondence in remarkable number of cases. This is apparently caused by fluctuations in the oxide??s charge. Strong oxidization is found to lead to a substantial increase in the energy of the conduction-band bottom on the InN surface. The average potential of an oxidized surface is demonstrated to exceed that of the initial one and be positive with respect to the SKPM probe. The measured data enable us to infer that the electron work function of InN anodic oxide is less than 5 eV.     

Relationship between surface potential and d33 constant in cellular piezoelectric polymers

The development of cellular piezoelectric polymers has shown very promising results thanks to their high d₃₃ piezoelectric constants which make them candidates for many applications. Cellular piezoelectric polymers, known as ferroelectrets, are obtained by means of an activation process which consists in generating an internal dipole with electrostatic charges produced by internal electric discharges. The most common system for this activation process is the application of a corona discharge on the surface of the sample in order to produce a high internal electric field. The theoretical electrostatic model of the process which is widely used is the Sessler model which relates the internal surface charge density, the air and polymer layers thickness, the dielectric permittivity of the polymer and the Young's Modulus of the cellular material to the d₃₃ piezoelectric constant. In our work, we relate the internal charges of the material with the d₃₃ piezoelectric constant by means of a surface potential scanning of cellular polypropylene biaxially stretched samples. Samples were charged by a corona discharge controlled with a triode electrode. Surface potentials were high enough to generate internal discharges and obtain measurable d₃₃ piezoelectric constants but low enough to be measured with spatial resolution by means of a 3 kV electrostatic probe. Surface potential profiles showed some deviations from the expected bell-shape profile due to the internal electric field generated by the internal static charge. These deviations can be numerically related to the measured d₃₃ piezoelectric constant with the electrostatic Sessler model.     

Behaviour of charged insulating particles in contact with a rotating roll electrode

The overall economic efficiency of standard industrial roll-type separators for granular materials can be improved by operation at higher velocities of the rotating roll electrode. The aim of this paper is to estimate how high this speed could be and still have a good separation. The answer to this question implied the calculation of the electric image force, which opposes the centrifugal force and sticks the corona-charged insulating particles to the rotating roll electrode. This force depends on the residual charge carried by the particles. By estimating the decay of this charge from surface potential measurements carried out on granular layers of insulating materials dispersed on grounded plate electrodes, it was possible to simulate the particle lift-off from the rotating roll electrode under various operating conditions. The results presented in the paper were obtained for fly-ash particles, but the numerical simulation methodology employed by the authors can be successfully applied for the optimisation of other electrostatic separation applications.     

Electrostatic potential and field near the boundary between space charge and no charge regions within a cylindrical pipe

In electronic industries, a corona ionizer is widely used for the elimination of electrostatic charge on the material. Although the high frequency AC ionizer proved the effectiveness of its performance, the corona ions must be sent through a metal pipe to reach targeting area. In order to analyze the behavior of ions in elimination process, the potential and electric field within a pipe must be known. Since the potential and field distribution near the boundary between space charge and no charge regions are extremely important, the analytical solution for this problem was sought by using Bessel functions. Analytical solution showed that even in no charge region, there exists potential distribution within a pipe. Numerical calculation of electric field on the inner pipe surface indicated useful information to estimate the charge density in the pipe. Furthermore, some mathematical formulae were obtained by using Bessel functions.     

Heterogeneity of surface potential in contact electrification under ambient conditions: A comparison of pre- and post-contact states

We measured the pattern of charging by contact electrification, following contact between a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp and a glass substrate with gold electrodes. We used scanning Kelvin probe microscopy to map the surface potential at the same regions before and after contact, allowing a point-by-point comparison. After contact, the mean surface potential of the glass shifted by 360 mV and micron-scale heterogeneity appeared with a magnitude of ∼100 mV. The gold electrodes showed charge transfer but no discernible heterogeneity. These results show that contact electrification causes heterogeneity of surface potential even on non-polymer surfaces such as glass under ambient conditions.     

Modeling of ionization–recombination processes in the atmospheric surface layer

The electrical structure of non-stationary horizontally-homogenous surface layer with multi-charged aerosol particles was mathematically modeled in the approximation of turbulent electrode effect. The profiles of positive and negative small ions and nuclei, electric field, polar air conductivity, current density and space charge density were computed in different time periods and various physical conditions. The mathematical model of non-stationary horizontally homogenous surface layer with aerosol particles was made regarding turbulent mixing and convective transport. The space-time distributions of positive and negative small ions and nuclei, electric field, electrical conductivity, current density and space charge density for various physical conditions (aerosol concentrations, turbulent mixing, convective transport, air ionization rate, electric field strength near surface, aerosol particles size) were received. Experimental data of electrical and meteorological parameters were measured and analyzed. It was received that theoretical results are in a good agreement with experimental data.     

Inhomogenous electronic structure, transport gap, and percolation threshold in disordered bilayer graphene

The inhomogenous real-space electronic structure of gapless and gapped disordered bilayer graphene is calculated in the presence of quenched charge impurities. For gapped bilayer graphene, we find that for current experimental conditions the amplitude of the fluctuations of the screened disorder potential is of the order of (or often larger than) the intrinsic gap Δ induced by the application of a perpendicular electric field. We calculate the crossover chemical potential Δ(cr), separating the insulating regime from a percolative regime in which less than half of the area of the bilayer graphene sample is insulating. We find that most of the current experiments are in the percolative regime with Δ(cr)?Δ. The huge suppression of Δ(cr) compared with Δ provides a possible explanation for the large difference between the theoretical band gap Δ and the experimentally extracted transport gap.     

Fermi Arcs and DC Transport in Nanowires of Dirac and Weyl Semimetals

The transport properties and electron states in cylinder nanowires of Dirac and Weyl semimetals are studied paying special attention to the structure and properties of the surface Fermi arcs. The latter make the electric charge and current density distributions in nanowires strongly nonuniform as the majority of the charge density is accumulated at the surface. It is found that a Weyl semimetal wire also supports a magnetization current localized mainly at the surface because of the Fermi arcs contribution. By using the Kubo linear response approach, the direct current (DC) conductivity is calculated and it is found that its spatial profile is nontrivial. By explicitly separating the contributions of the surface and bulk states, it is shown that when the electric chemical potential and/or the radius of the wire is small, the electron transport is determined primarily by the Fermi arcs and the electrical conductivity is much higher at the surface than in the bulk. Due to the rise of the surface-bulk transition rate, the relative contribution of the surface states to the total conductivity gradually diminishes as the chemical potential increases. In addition, the DC conductivity at the surface demonstrates noticeable peaks when the Fermi level crosses energies of the surface states.