Trap level distribution dependence of lifetime for polyimide films under repetitive impulse voltage

Abstract

In this paper, polyimide (PI) films were modified by using non-thermal plasma, which was generated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in atmospheric air. Under repetitive impulse voltage, the lifetime of plasma treated PI films increases obviously, which reaches the maximum value of 16.8% higher than that of untreated PI films, obtained by 20 s’ treatment. For further understanding lifetime improvement mechanism, energy level distribution of both electron-type and hole-type traps was calculated based on isothermal surface potential decay (ISPD) measurement. It is found that energy level of both shallow and deep traps decrease after treatment, reaching the lowest value for the films treated for 20 s. Lower energy for shallow trap is beneficial to charge dissipation, so that local electrical field would be mitigated. Furthermore, lower energy for deep trap results in less amount of trapped surface charges. Thus, surface PD intensity would be suppressed, ending up with longer lifetime. Analysis of chemical bonding structure reveals that active groups rich in oxygen and nitrogen were introduced into the near-surface region of plasma treated sample, which are responsible for corresponding change of trap energy level distribution. However, in order to prolong lifetime effectively, plasma treating time must to be controlled in an appropriate range.