The Poole–Frenkel effect in a dielectric under nanosecond irradiation by an electron beam with moderate or high current density

Processes of electron trapping and detrapping determine in many respects intense processes arising in dielectric and delayed by 1–100 ns from the irradiation pulse of a high-power electron beam, such as electron emission, electric discharge in the bulk of the dielectric, flashover, and electric breakdown. A model of charged donor center ionization in a dielectric exposed to a strong electric field is constructed. The model takes into account 1) the energy spectrum of the charged donor center in the dielectric, 2) the semiclassical state density in the donor center, 3) spontaneous emission of phonons by the electron localized in the donor center, 4) increase in the kinetic energy of the electron (heating) in the external electric field, 5) electron tunneling through a potential barrier and its reflection from the barrier depending on the external field intensity, and 6) thermal fluctuations of energy of the electron localized in the donor center. The probability of charged donor center ionization in the dielectric per unit time is calculated. In weak fields, the field dependence of the ionization probability almost coincides with that for the Poole–Frenkel theory. In strong fields, the contribution of electron heating to the external electric field is the deciding factor. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 10–16, December, 2008.