Transient and steady-state currents in epoxy resin

Abstract

Charging and discharging currents have been measured in a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A epoxy resin with and without silica fillers, below and above its glass transition temperature Tg = 65 °C. Both transient and steady-state current densities have been analysed. The average applied fields ranged from 3 to 35 kV mm−1 with a sample thickness of 0.5 mm. Above Tg, transient currents suggested a phenomenon of charge injection forming trapped space charges even at low fields. Steady-state currents confirmed that the behaviour was not Ohmic and suggested Schottky-type injection. Below Tg, the current is not controlled by the metal–dielectric interface but by the conduction in the volume: the current is Ohmic at low fields and both transient and steady-state currents suggest a phenomenon of space-charge limited currents at high fields. The field threshold is similar in the filler-free and the filled resin. Values in the range 12–17 kV mm−1 have been measured.