Electrical conduction in a semicrystalline polyethylene terephthalate in high electric field

Abstract

Measurements of conduction currents were carried out on polyethylene terephthalate semi crystalline PET in an electrical field region varying from 40 to 260 V/μm. Various mechanisms of conduction (Richardson–Schottky, Fowler–Nordheim, Poole–Frenkel, space charge limited current SCLC, Hopping), can cause non-linear characteristics. To highlight the mechanism responsible for conduction in the PET, we used the slope of the experimental curve Log( J)= f( E) in the region 150< E<260 V/μm, to calculate the value of the dielectric permittivity. The characteristic curve Log( J)= f(1/ T) shows that the Poole–Frenkel mechanism of conduction is prevalent in the semi crystalline PET. The characteristic J= f( E) for various thicknesses shows that the field threshold increases with the thickness.