Mechanism of electrical degradation and breakdown of insulating polymers

The electrical breakdown of polymers with saturated bonds is considered as a consequence of formation of low-density regions in the bulk of the polymers. These regions form due to the dissociation of chemical bonds initiated by the ionization of macromolecules in a high electric field. It was shown that the electrical lifetime of a polymer can be estimated based on this approach. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.