On priorities of cathode and anode contaminations in triggering the short-pulsed voltage breakdown in vacuum

Modern theoretical notations on electrical breakdown in vacuum consider cathode triggering mechanisms to be most responsible on short-pulsed (<1 /spl mu/s) breakdowns while anode mechanisms to be responsible in a part on DC and long-pulsed breakdowns. Following those notations, we tried to reveal conditions at which either mechanism steps aside to another one. The study involved several experimental techniques including the anode-probe surface scanning, pulsed electron-beam surface melting in vacuum for surface cleaning, and intentional dust particle contamination of electrode surfaces. Breakdown tests were performed using a pulser capable of producing 220 kV quasi-square pulses that were adjustable to /spl sim/30 to 80 ns pulse length. Our experiments showed that cathode emission sites are responsible for breakdowns at relatively low hold-off fields. At higher electric fields of up to 1 MV/cm, the anode share in the mechanism of triggering breakdown becomes probably more significant than the cathode mechanism.     

High power water switches: postbreakdown phenomena and dielectric recovery

The physical processes following the electrical breakdown of water between planar and hemispherical electrodes separated by a sub-millimeter gap have been studied using electrical and optical diagnostics. The expanding plasma column after breakdown generates first shockwaves and at a later stage a vapor bubble which expands for about 200 /spl mu/s and then decays with a time constant of I ms. The bubble decay time determines the dielectric recovery of the switch as has been shown with pulse-probe experiments.     

Electrical characterization of benzocyclobutene polymers for electric micromachines

An approach using interdigitated capacitors for electrical characterization of CYCLOTENE, a spin-on low-k benzocyclobutene (BCB)-based polymer is introduced and the effect of moisture uptake is investigated. The dielectric constant of CYCLOTENE is extracted from capacitance measurements with a systematic error less than 0.1%, giving an average value of 2.49 with a standard deviation of 1.5%. The dielectric constant increases by 1.2% after a humidity stress of 85% RH at 85/spl deg/C. The I-V characteristics of CYCLOTENE show a dependency of breakdown strength and leakage current on the geometrical dimensions of the device under test. A breakdown strength of 225V//spl mu/m and 320 V//spl mu/m for 2-/spl mu/m and 3-/spl mu/m finger spacing, respectively, and a leakage current of a few to tens of pA are measured. The I-V characteristics degrade drastically after the humidity stress, showing a breakdown strength of 100 V//spl mu/m and 180 V//spl mu/m for 2-/spl mu/m and 3-/spl mu/m finger spacing, respectively, and a maximum increase in the leakage current as large as one order of magnitude. The maximum performance and long-term reliability of an electric micromachine are adversely affected by the degradation of the breakdown voltage and the leakage current after moisture absorption. It is expected, however, that the electrical efficiency is improved using BCB-based polymers with negligible dependency on moisture absorption.     

Electrical conductivity and space charge in LDPE containing TiO/sub 2/ nanoparticles

Electrical conductivity (DC) and space charge accumulation were studied in samples of low density polyethylene to which nano-sized and micro-sized TiO/sub 2/ (anatase) particles and a dispersant had been added. Sample thicknesses were in the range 150-200 /spl mu/m. At applied field strengths of 10 and 20 kV/mm, the conductivity at 30 /spl deg/C, measured in vacuum in samples containing 10 % w/w nano-sized TiO/sub 2/, decreased by 1-2 orders of magnitude relative to samples with dispersant but without TiO/sub 2/, and by three orders of magnitude at 70 /spl deg/C. In air at 30 /spl deg/C the corresponding decrease was an order of magnitude at 10 kV/mm, and a factor of four at 20 kV/mm. In samples containing 10 % w/w micro-sized TiO/sub 2/ the conductivity increased in air and in vacuum, but only by factors in the range 2-10 depending on temperature and field. Space charge profiles were obtained using the laser-intensity-modulation-method (LIIMM), irradiating both surfaces of the sample. The micro-sized TiO/sub 2/ particles are associated with increased charge injection from the electrodes and increased charge trapping in the sample bulk, increasing the conductivity overall. The nano-sized particles generate very little charge in the sample bulk, but render the electrodes partially-blocking and so lower the conductivity.     

Relationship between electrode surface roughness and impulse breakdown voltage in vacuum gap of Cu and Cu-Cr electrodes

The relationship between the impulse breakdown voltage of vacuum gaps and electrode surface roughness was investigated for the purpose of controlling the surface roughness on HV conductors. The roughness of mechanically polished Cu and Cu-Cr electrodes was measured with a roughness meter, and the relationship between the breakdown voltage and surface roughness was obtained for plate-to-plate gaps. The discharge-conditioning effect increased with reduction in the surface roughness. The breakdown voltage depended not only on the roughness of the cathode but also on the anode surfaces. Reducing the surface roughness was found not to be an effective way to increase the breakdown voltage for non-uniform field gaps after discharge conditioning.     

Surface switching characteristics of variable permittivity dielectrics

Flashover voltage, lifetimes, and switch performance of insulators utilizing square thin and thick film electrodes were examined to determine the viability of using thin electrodes for reliable surface discharge switching. Gold, silver, and platinum were sputtered (0.25 /spl mu/m) and screen printed (15 /spl mu/m) onto Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/, TiO/sub 2/, and modified BaTiO/sub 3/ (MBT), then tested in air at 10/sup 5/ Pa, under vacuum (10/sup -3/ torr), and while immersed in an insulating fluid, SF-2 (manufactured by 3M). For the measured range of 0.5 to 3 mm in air, the flashover voltage for all three insulators was found to have a linear dependence on the electrode separation distance with 15 /spl mu/m thick screen printed electrodes and a square root dependence with 0.25 /spl mu/m thick sputtered electrodes. Delay times of approximately 20 ns with a corresponding jitter of 6 ns were observed across all three insulators under triggered flashover. Insulators in air with sputtered electrodes had lifetimes of approximately 5 flashovers for dc flashover and 40 for triggered flashover. Screen printed TiO/sub 2/ and MBT had dc lifetimes of approximately 10 flashovers in air, and 3 flashovers in vacuum and SF-2. Screen printed TiO/sub 2/ and MBT had triggered lifetimes of greater than 200 flashovers in air, and <3 flashovers in vacuum and SF-2. Screen printed Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ had dc and triggered lifetimes of greater than 200 flashovers in air, vacuum and SF-2. Insulator failure during dc flashover was determined to be due to the formation of a conductive channel between the anode and cathode. Formation of the channel was attributed to insulator thermal and dielectric properties and the presence of vaporized electrode species in the gap region during flashover.     

Effects of manufacturing technology on electrical breakdown and morphology of thin films of low density polyethylene blended with polypropylene copolymer

Extruded films prepared from blends of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and random copolymer of ethylene and propylene (EP) with the T-die method were studied with respect to electrical properties and morphology. Comparisons with data on blown films are made. These blends are of interest as improved LDPE for making XLPE for insulated power cable. In the high temperature region (90/spl deg/C), a specimen with a slightly higher EP content had higher impulse breakdown strength than that with a lower EP content, but no improvement of DC breakdown strength by blending could be found. The improvement of impulse breakdown strength (90/spl deg/C) is explained in terms of morphological changes by blending such as the orientation of chains in a film and the size of spherulites on the assumption of the thermal breakdown. In comparison, a T-die film had higher impulse breakdown strength than that of a blown film for the same composition. The impulse breakdown strength also increased with the use of the higher density LDPE. In the current versus electric field characteristics at 30/spl deg/C, the blend polymer with EP content of 5-10% showed a transition from LDPE behavior at low field region to EP behavior at high field region. However, no appreciable difference in current behavior among the specimens was observed at 90/spl deg/C, which suggests an incompatibility between the two materials that exists at 30/spl deg/C but not at 90/spl deg/C.     

Electrode roughness effects on the breakdown of air-insulatedapparatus

The dielectric breakdown of air insulating systems is believed to be sensitive to local irregularity of the electric field which may result from the presence of defects such as contaminants adhering to electrode surfaces and surface roughness. Normally metal machining methods are used to eliminate such electrode surfaces irregularities. However, system aging and harsh operating conditions create and sustain such rough surface conditions which may, in turn, lead to the failure of insulation under the resulting enhanced electric stresses. Electrode surface roughness causes a large reduction in the breakdown strengths of gas insulated apparatus. Surface roughness leads to the existence of localized microscopic regions with local field intensities larger than the average field in the gas near the electrodes. This paper models the insulation breakdown mechanism in the presence of such surface roughness, or protrusions, taking into account their random nature which lends the problem to probabilistic treatment. In order to generalize the surface roughness effect on the dielectric withstand of air-insulated systems, surface roughness is simulated by using a random event generator. The perturbations which these protrusions inflict on the field distribution in a nearly-uniform field gap are assessed. The corresponding breakdown voltages are estimated for different patterns of surface roughness. The results are statistically formulated     

Pulsed HV vacuum breakdown of polished, powder coated, and e-beam treated large area stainless steel electrodes with 0.5 to 7 mm gaps

An investigation of the HV vacuum breakdown between polished, powder coated, and e-beam treated 304L and 316L stainless steel electrodes is described. Tests were performed with 160 ns, 1-cos(/spl omega/t), and 260 ns flat-top voltage pulses of up to 500 kV. The high voltage hold-off for the 160 ns pulse was /spl sim/130 kV/mm for 2 mm gaps for 80-mm diameter polished stainless steel electrodes, and 15% lower for 120-mm polished and e-beam treated electrodes. The longer 260 ns pulse gave 15% lower hold-off for 80-mm electrodes. These electrodes showed voltage hold-off that scaled as the square root of the gap between 0.5 and 7 mm. This total voltage effect has been interpreted in the past as due to accelerated particles. We analyze our data in terms of this mechanism and show that only nanoparticles of molecular size could be responsible. We also discuss how ions or background gas could affect the breakdown thresholds but existing models do not predict square root dependence. We test how extremely fine powers affect hold-off and show that contaminated surfaces have relatively constant reduced breakdown E-fields that intersect the clean-electrode voltage-dependent breakdown at critical gaps defined by the type and quantity of contamination. The hold-off was /spl sim/55 and 65 kV/mm with copper powder on the cathode and anode for 2 to 6.5 mm gaps, respectively, and /spl sim/95 and 75 kV/mm for talc powder on the cathode and anode for gaps <3.5 and 6.5 mm. Optical diagnostics show no difference in the light emission from clean and contaminated electrode breakdown arcs.     

Charge storage in corona-charged polypropylene films analyzed by LIPP and TSC methods

Negatively corona-charged 50-/spl mu/m-thick polypropylene (PP) film is measured using laser-induced pressure pulse (LIPP) and thermally stimulated current (TSC) in order to study the charge storage mechanism in the PP film. The LIPP can reveal the space-charge distribution in the depth direction of the PP films and the TSC can be used to measure the energetic depth of the charge trap. The LIPP shows that negative charge is deposited on the charged surface of the sample. Almost all surface charges are removed by soaking the sample in ethanol. However, about 5% of the surface charge is injected into the sample up to a depth of about 7 /spl mu/m from the surface. The injected charge is not removed by the dip-in-ethanol method because the ethanol does not penetrate into the sample. The injection of the surface charge increases with corona-charging temperature. Besides the negative charge injection, the injection of positive charge from the opposite surface is also observed when the sample is charged at higher than 60/spl deg/C. In addition, negative bulk charge is formed when the sample is charged at higher than 80/spl deg/C. The LIPP profile is compared with the TSC spectrum. It is shown that the space charge observed using LIPP disappears when the temperature of the sample exceeds 80/spl deg/C. However, TSC is observed at even higher than 80/spl deg/C. This indicates that the TSC is observed even after the disappearance of the space charge measured using LIPP.     

Long-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers on InP with lattice matched AlGaInAs-InP DBR grown by MOCVD

1.3- and 1.55-/spl mu/m vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) on InP have been realized. High-reflectivity AlGaInAs-InP lattice matched distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) were grown on InP substrates. 1.7 (for 1.3 /spl mu/m) and 2.0 (for 1.55 /spl mu/m) mW single mode power at 25/spl deg/C, 0.6 mW single mode power at 85/spl deg/C and lasing operation at >100/spl deg/C have been achieved. 10 Gbit/s error free transmissions through 10 km standard single mode fiber for 1.3-/spl mu/m VCSELs, and through 15 km nonzero dispersion shift fiber for 1.55-/spl mu/m VCSELs, have been demonstrated. With the addition of an SOA, 100 km error free transmission at 10 Gbit/s also has been demonstrated through a negative dispersion fiber. No degradation has been observed after over 2500-h aging test.     

Effect of electrode surface roughness on breakdown conditioning under non-uniform electric field in vacuum

Breakdown (BD) characteristics in vacuum are strongly dependent on the electrode surface conditions, such as surface roughness. However, there is little known concerning the details of the relationship between the surface roughness and BD conditioning effect. In practical application, it is important to clarify how the surface roughness affects the breakdown conditioning characteristics, especially for the non-uniform field configuration. This paper discusses the effect of surface roughness on breakdown conditioning characteristics under non-uniform electric field in vacuum under applications of negative standard lightning impulse voltage. For this purpose, we examined the BD conditioning of a rod-to-plane electrode made of SUS304 and Cu-Cr. The surface roughness of R_a is controlled from 0.3 to 2.5 mum. Experimental results revealed that the enhancement of surface roughness of electrodes increases the number of BD to complete the conditioning effect. We explained the results from the observed results of the electrode surface. Consequently, we could clarify the effect of surface roughness on the conditioning effect under non-uniform electric field in vacuum quantitatively.     

Charge storage and its dynamics in porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film electrets

The outstanding space charge storage stability of porous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film electrets is studied by isothermal surface potential decay measurements and open-circuit thermally stimulated discharge (TSD) experiments after corona charging at room and elevated temperatures, or corona charging at RT and then aging at different temperatures. Charge storage properties of porous PTFE, nonporous PTFE (Teflon/spl reg/ PTFE) and nonporous FEP (Teflon/spl reg/ FEP) electrets are compared. The results show that porous PTFE has the best charge storage stability of organic materials for both negative and positive charges, especially at high temperatures. The structure of porous PTFE, investigated by a scanning electron microscope (SEM), is important for understanding the electret properties of this material. Charge dynamics, including the influence of environmental humidity and temperature on charge stability and shift of mean charge depth, and the kinetics of detrapped charges for the porous PTFE film electrets were also investigated by means of isothermal surface potential decay measurements and analysis of the TSD current spectra in combination with the heat pulse technique. It is found that from about RT to 200/spl deg/C slow retrapping plays a dominant role; from about 200/spl deg/C to 300/spl deg/C fast retrapping controls the transport.     

Single-mode 1.27-/spl mu/m InGaAs:Sb-GaAs-GaAsP quantum well vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

The 1.27-/spl mu/m InGaAs:Sb-GaAs-GaAsP vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) were grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and exhibited excellent performance and temperature stability. The threshold current varies from 1.8 to 1.1 mA and the slope efficiency falls less than /spl sim/35% from 0.17 to 0.11 mW/mA as the temperature is raised from room temperature to 75/spl deg/C. The VCSELs continuously operate up to 105/spl deg/C with a slope efficiency of 0.023 mW/mA. With a bias current of only 5 mA, the 3-dB modulation frequency response was measured to be 8.36 GHz, which is appropriate for 10-Gb/s operation. The maximal bandwidth is estimated to be 10.7 GHz with modulation current efficiency factor of /spl sim/5.25GHz/(mA)/sup 1/2/. These VCSELs also demonstrate high-speed modulation up to 10 Gb/s from 25/spl deg/C to 70/spl deg/C. We also accumulated life test data up to 1000 h at 70/spl deg/C/10 mA.     

表面改性碳纤维电极的STM微观形貌分析

采用扫描隧道显微镜(STM)技术,分析了经硫酸化学及电化学表面氧化处理前后碳纤维表面的微观形貌变化.处理前碳纤维的微观结构是乱层石墨结构;处理后碳纤维表面的石墨微晶变得清晰规整,同时大大增加了石墨微晶层面边缘碳原子的数目.碳原子间不饱合的C-C键吸附氧而形成含氧官能基团,改善了电极表面的浸润性,提高了电极表面吸附的反应物浓度;同时增加了电化学反应活性中心,因而提高了碳电极的电化学反应活性.电化学处理比化学处理效果更为显著.     

Design of a cylindrical high-voltage high-temperature vacuum insulator

A design for a high temperature, HV insulator is presented. This design exploits the temperature dependent thermal and electrical properties of alumina and a unique structural insulator design to increase the high voltage hold-off characteristics of the insulator, reduces thermal flux through the insulator, and alleviate stresses caused by mismatch between insulator and electrode thermal expansion coefficients. The designed insulators insulate graphite electrodes at temperatures approaching 1000/spl deg/C and potentials up to 50 kV. In this paper, the general methodology of designing these insulators is explored, and some limited performance data is presented.     

1.3-/spl mu/m AlGaInAs strain compensated MQW-buried-heterostructure lasers for uncooled 10-gb/s operation

We have successfully fabricated 1.3-/spl mu/m AlGaInAs strain-compensated multiple-quantum-well (MQW) buried-heterostructure (BH) lasers by narrow-stripe selective metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. Based on the optimization of AlGaInAs strain compensated MQW and the Al-oxidation-free BH process, we obtained a low-threshold current of 12.5 mA and a relaxation frequency of more than 10 GHz at 85/spl deg/C for Fabry-Perot lasers. For distributed feedback lasers, we demonstrated a 10-Gb/s operation and transmission of over 16 Km for a single mode fiber at 100/spl deg/C. Furthermore, a record-low 25.8-mA/sub p-p/ modulation current for a 10-Gb/s modulation at 100/spl deg/C was demonstrated with shorter cavity and high grating-coupling coefficient. A median life of more than 1/spl times/10/sup 5/ h at 85/spl deg/C was estimated after an aging test of over 5000 h for these lasers. These superior characteristics at high temperatures were achieved by the combination of the high differential gain of AlGaInAs strain compensated MQW and the BH structure.     

Single-mode distributed feedback and microlasers based on quantum-dot gain material

Quantum-dot gain material fabricated by self-organized epitaxial growth on GaAs substrates is used for the realization of 980-nm and 1.3-/spl mu/m single-mode distributed feedback (DFB) lasers and edge-emitting microlasers. Quantum-dot specific properties such as low-threshold current, broad gain spectrum, and low-temperature sensitivity could be demonstrated on ridge waveguide and DFB lasers in comparison to quantum-well-based devices. 980-nm DFB lasers exhibit stable single-mode behavior from 20/spl deg/C up to 214/spl deg/C with threshold currents < 15 mA (1-mm cavity length). Utilizing the low-bandgap absorption of quantum-dot material miniaturized monolithically integrable edge-emitting lasers could be realized by deeply etched Bragg mirrors with cavity lengths down to 12 /spl mu/m. A minimum threshold current of 1.2 mA and a continuous-wave (CW) output power of >1 mW was obtained for 30-/spl mu/m cavity length. Low-threshold currents of 4.4 mA could be obtained for 1.3-/spl mu/m emitting 400-/spl mu/m-long high-reflection coated ridge waveguide lasers. DFB lasers made from this material by laterally complex coupled feedback gratings show stable CW single-mode emission up to 80/spl deg/C with sidemode suppression ratios exceeding 40 dB.     

Electrical breakdown triggered by a free conducting spherical particle in saturated liquid He I and He II under uniform dc field

This paper is concerned with the pre-breakdown phenomena and the breakdown voltage characteristics, in the presence of a free moving conducting spherical particle, of saturated normal liquid helium (He I) and saturated superfluid liquid helium (He II) under uniform dc field. Experiments show that the particle lifts off around the theoretical value of the lift-off electric field, and the particle oscillates between the electrodes at higher applied voltages. In that case, the microdischarge appears just before the charged particle collides with the oppositely charged electrode, and the bubble is generated at the moment of every collision of the particle with the electrode. It is confirmed theoretically as well as experimentally that the maximum bubble radius in He II is nearly proportional to the E/sub in//sup 1/3/, which is the released energy from the particle for the bubble generation. The insulation environment before the electrical breakdown suddenly changes at the /spl lambda/-point since the bubble behavior in He I and He II greatly differs. In the characteristics of the breakdown voltage vs. liquid pressure, a clear discontinuity appears at the /spl lambda/-point. Furthermore, the breakdown voltage in the parallel plane gap contaminated by a particle is lower than that in the rod-plane gap without a particle. It is found that the breakdown voltage characteristics are closely related to the trigger effect of the microdischarge and the bubble generation.     

Application of nickel alloy electrode to characterization of crystal oriented PbTiO3 thin films

A new electrode material made of nickel alloy has been developed that can be used in place of platinum electrodes, which have commonly been utilized in conjunction with PbTiO₃ and Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃ thin films. This alloy electrode is composed of nickel, chromium, iron and aluminium. When heated in an oxidation atmosphere, an alumina film layer is generated on the surface of the alloy that prevents the electrode from oxidizing and reacting with PbO. The remanent polarization of the PbTiO₃ film on the alloy electrode oriented in the (111) direction was 25 μC/cm², a value which is approximately equal to that of ceramics. The breakdown strength of the film reached the relatively large value of 190 kV/cm at room temperature. In addition, the as-grown film was already polarized with a degree of polarization estimated to be half that of fully polarized bulk ceramics.