Interfacial phenomena in insulators: measurement and simulation
Due to their thermal, electrical or mechanical properties, solid organic dielectrics are more and more used in electronic, electrical and microelectronic domains. However, these dielectrics are mainly used in systems where they are in contact with other components: with semi-conducting screens in High Voltage cables, with substrates and other dielectrics in multi-layer systems, with micro or nano-particles of organic or inorganic materials. Interfaces exist in such systems and contribute to the space charge accumulation in solid dielectrics. This charge build-up can lead to dielectric breakdown, meaning the failure of the system. The major problem remains the physical description of these interfaces, as it is known that injection of charges from the interfaces is determinant in the charge generation and transport. Indeed, theoretical approaches like the Schottky injection law do not provide an adequate description of experimental currents in wide band gap insulations. Recently, surface states at the metal/organic interface were suggested as the source of additional energetic disorder, localized near the interface. Localized states at the interface are known to have a large impact on charge injection and extraction so a better understanding of the interface mechanisms is then necessary in order to develop an alternative model for charge injection. The aim of this work is to better understand the impact of the nature of the metal and of the surface topology on the charge generation at a metal/ dielectric interface.This work is based on a dual approach modeling and experience. The insulation used is here is the low density polyethylene (LDPE). First, we characterized experimentally metal / insulator interfaces thanks to the available measures (measures of space charge, current conduction,...). In a second step, we developed a numerical model capable of taking into account the surface states. The approach is original, because the study focuses on charge injection and transport with an exponential distribution of energy states at the interface.