Reduction of Ionic Conduction Loss in Multilayer Dielectric Films by Immobilizing Impurity Ions in High Glass Transition Temperature Polymer Layers

Abstract

Current development of advanced power electronics for electric vehicles demands high temperature, high energy density, and low loss polymer dielectrics. Multilayer films (MLFs), which are comprised of alternating high temperature/low loss linear dielectric polymer such as polysulfone (PSF) and high energy density polymer such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), are promising for this application, because high temperature tolerance, high energy density, and low loss can be achieved simultaneously. This study explored the reduction of impurity ion conduction loss in PSF/PVDF MLFs (e.g., the dissipation factor is as low as 0.003 at 1 Hz and 100 °C) without sacrificing high dielectric constant and high energy density. Various electric poling processes were explored at a temperature slightly below the glass transition temperature (Tg ∼ 185 °C) of PSF. Compared with pure alternating current (AC) and pure direct current (DC) poling methods, unipolar (DC + AC) poling was found to be the most effective in polariz...