Field Dependence Of Conductivity Research Articles

A multi-mobility model for polymer insulation: Role of high-mobility space charge on breakdown with high dv/dt voltages

The failure of polymeric solid insulation under transient voltages is closely associated with space charge. In this study, DC and AC field dependent conduction characteristics of epoxy resin were investigated using the space charge limited current and high voltage broadband dielectric spectrum methods. The breakdown voltages (BDVs) were examined over a wide range of DC voltage ramp rates. The results reveal a threshold effect of AC conduction loss below 600 Hz with respect to the electric field. By analyzing charge migration laws, a mobility distribution was deduced, with an upper limit of 10−9m2V−1s−1, which is much higher than the measured DC mobility of 10−14m2V−1s−1. A multi-mobility bipolar charge transport model was proposed by introducing the obtained mobility distribution. Compared to the single-mobility model, high-mobility carriers induce larger unblocked space charge currents for high dv/dt voltages, leading to lower values of BDV, which is consistent with experiment results. As the voltage ramp rate decreases, both simulation and experiment demonstrate higher BDVs due to the field shielding effect of homocharges.

Magnetic field dependent thermal conductivity investigation of water based Fe3O4/CNT and Fe3O4/graphene magnetic hybrid nanofluids using a Helmholtz coil system setup

Magnetic hybrid nanofluids are making a name of themselves in mainstream application areas such as heat transfer, solar systems, acoustic applications, etc. These nanofluids are highly favorable as their ability to advance the properties of their constituent particles such as their thermophysical properties. This study aims to investigate the magnetic field dependent thermal conductivity of Fe3O4/CNT – water and Fe3O4/Graphene – water magnetic hybrid nanofluids. The thermal conductivity investigations are carried out with the 3ω method under a uniform magnetic field generated by a 3D Helmholtz coil system. Fe3O4/CNT – water and Fe3O4/Graphene – water magnetic hybrid nanofluids were purchased commercially as 20 wt% colloids. Then, the samples with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 wt% were prepared by diluting them with DI water. Thermal conductivity measurements were carried out for the samples under the external uniform magnetic field in the range of 0–250 G in both parallel and perpendicular directions to the temperature gradient generated by the thermal conductivity measurement probe. The results pointed out that the thermal conductivity of the samples increases as the magnetic field and particle concentration increase for both magnetic hybrid nanofluids. Additionally, it is obtained that the thermal conductivity enhancement of Fe3O4/Graphene – water is up to 3 times higher than Fe3O4/CNT – water samples. Moreover, the maximum thermal conductivity enhancement was observed as ∼12 % and ∼9 % for Fe3O4/CNT – water, and ∼51 % and ∼21 % Fe3O4/Graphene – water under external magnetic field application with parallel and perpendicular direction, respectively.

Low temperature charge transport study of MWCNT/PEDOT:PSS composites: insulating to metallic regime

Multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) composites have been examined for their temperature and magnetic field dependent conductivity behavior. The conductivity ratio, σ r (σ 300 K/ σ 2 K), is significantly impacted by the sulfuric acid post-treatment of the composites and a slight alteration in MWCNTs loading. By adjusting the loading of MWCNTs in the composites, the charge transport is tuned from insulating to metallic regime. For the low loading of MWCNTs (0.04 wt%), charge transport of the composite lies in the insulating regime and follows a variable range hopping model. At moderate loading of MWCNTs, the transport of the composites lies in the critical regime and the temperature dependent conductivity follows a power law model. As the MWCNTs loading increases to 4 wt%, transport of the composites shifts to the metallic regime with σ r ∼ 2.8. The temperature dependent conductivity has been explained by using electron-electron interactions and weak localization effects and the conductivity follows ∼T 1/2 and ∼T 3/4 dependence in different temperature regimes. Wave function shrinkage and forward interference effects have been used to evaluate the magnetoconductance (MC) of the samples located in the insulating regime. For the composites lying in the metallic regime, a dominant contribution from weak localization explains the behaviour of the MC. However, for those in the critical regime a combined effect of weak localization and electron-electron interactions has been observed.

Electric field and temperature dependent conductivity in PEDOT:PSS/PVA

The charge transport in conducting polymer blends of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene-sulfonate) [PEDOT:PSS] and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at 75, 50, 25, and 12 vol. % of PEDOT:PSS is investigated in the temperature range of 300–4.2 K. The scaling fit to percolative transport [σ ∝ |f − fc|t] shows that fc is around 10% and t = 2. The temperature dependent conductivity varies from the critical regime of metal–insulator transition to variable range hopping, along with the alterations in the networks of PEDOT:PSS in PVA. The variation in the exponent (n) in electric field dependent conductivity is more significant as the volume fraction of PEDOT:PSS decreases. The value of n decreases as the thermal contribution to transport dominates, showing the competing roles of both field and temperature.

Impact of PTFE particle size in designing BaTiO3 dielectric composites under the cold sintering process

The Cold Sintering Process (CSP) can provide opportunities to fabricate high-performance BaTiO3 dielectric composites with polymer materials that are typically difficult to impossible to co-process under a conventional sintering process. Therefore, we investigated the preparation process of BaTiO3 sintered body by CSP and integrated a well-dispersed intergranular polymer phase. In this study, we focused on preparing BaTiO3 and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites. We considered the importance of the particle size of the PTFE phase, and correlated the impact on the composite dielectric properties. Through fitting a general-mixing-law to the dielectric properties as a function of volume fraction, we could deduce more homogeneous composites obtained in using the 200 nm PTFE powders. In addition, the temperature dependent dielectric properties and field dependent conductivity of the composites was investigated. It was found that with the good dispersion of the PTFE can suppress the leakage current density in the dielectric composites.

Design of Electrical Characterization Method for Electroporation-Treated Biological Tissues

The design of a method to evaluate the efficacy of electroporation-treated (with several pulses) tissues is proposed. This method is based on the application of both the standard and a non-standard electrical characterization of biological tissues, on a platform, containing the samples under test, adopted to have minimal invasive contact measurements. Standard direct current electrical characterization was performed for comparison. For the electroporated tissues (using eight pulses), the electrical behavior of the tissue in working condition, governed by high intensity and short duration square wave stimuli, typically used in electrochemotherapy treatments, is utilized. Both electroporation stimuli application and direct current testing were performed using the same electrodes in parallel plate configuration on the parallelepiped shaped samples. The electrodes were not removed during the designed procedure to reduce the interaction with the tissue under test and the effect of different contact resistances. A finite element analysis-based numerical evaluation of the test cell used in the procedure was also performed, both with a constant and an electric field-dependent electrical conductivity, showing its robustness. The method is tested on potato samples, as an example of a biomaterial, whose electrical conductivity is electric field-dependent. The samples were subjected to a high intensity square wave pulse voltage of 100μs long, in order to evaluate the effect of multiple pulses, as a single protocol parameter. Results indicate the dependency of the electrical conductivity on the electric field strength applied using multiple pulses, and the method is easily scalable and usable as a starting point for evaluating the effect of other protocol parameters.

Enhanced field-dependent conductivity and material properties of nano-AlN/micro-SiC/silicone elastomer hybrid composites for electric stress mitigation in high-voltage power modules

This paper reports an enhancement of the nonlinear conductivity, thermal and mechanical properties of micro-silicon carbide/silicone elastomer (m-SiC/SE) composites by adding nano-aluminum nitride (n-AlN) for power module encapsulation applications. The electrical properties (such as nonlinear conductivity characteristics and transient permittivity obtained from polarization current, and trap distributions obtained from thermally stimulated depolarization current) and material properties (including thermo-gravimetric analysis, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and thermal conductivity, tensile strength, strain at break and Young’s modulus) of the pure SE, m-SiC/SE microcomposites, m-SiC/n-AlN/SE hybrid composites are investigated. The effect of the m-SiC fillers and n-AlN fillers on physicochemical properties of the SE matrix is analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy and crosslinking degree. The measured nonlinear conductivity and transient permittivity are used for electric field simulation under DC stationary and square voltages. It is found that the addition of n-AlN fillers in the SE hybrid composite improves the nonlinear conductivity characteristics and mitigates the electric field under DC stationary and square voltages, compared to the SE microcomposite. Furthermore, the m-SiC/n-AlN/SE hybrid composite has a higher thermal degradation temperature, thermal conductivity, tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and crosslinking degree than the SE microcomposite, whereas their CTE and strain at break are lower. It is elucidated that the m-SiC/n-AlN/SE hybrid composite with enhanced nonlinear conductivity and material properties is a promising packaging material for high-voltage power modules.

(Invited, Digital Presentation) Optoelectronic Processes in Single-Chirality Carbon Nanotube Thin Films

Much understanding exists regarding chirality-dependent properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), primarily obtained through single-tube studies. However, macroscopic manifestations of chirality dependence have been limited, especially in electronic transport. Here, recent progress in our optical and electronic transport studies of single-chirality SWCNT thin films will be reviewed. We observed pronounced chirality-dependent electronic localization in temperature and magnetic field dependent conductivity measurements on macroscopic films of single-chirality SWCNTs [1]. We also performed optical absorption measurements in aligned single-chirality (6,5) SWCNT films, and through comparison with detailed theoretical calculations based on the Boltzmann scattering equation, we demonstrated that the background absorption is due to phonon-assisted transitions from the semiconductor vacuum to finite-momentum continuum states of excitons [2]. Furthermore, we conducted terahertz emission and photocurrent studies on films of aligned single-chirality semiconducting SWCNTs and found that excitons autoionize, i.e., spontaneously dissociate into electrons and holes [3]. Some of these studies were enabled by our recent improvement of the controlled vacuum filtration technique [4,5], which allows us to fabricate wafer-scale aligned SWCNTs with extremely anisotropic optical properties [6-9]. W. Gao et al., “Band Structure Dependent Electronic Localization in Macroscopic Films of Single-Chirality Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes,” Carbon 183, 774 (2021).S. Dal Forno et al., “Origin of the Background Absorption in Carbon Nanotubes: Phonon-Assisted Excitonic Continuum,” Carbon 186, 465 (2021).F. R. G. Bagsican et al., “Terahertz Excitonics in Carbon Nanotubes: Exciton Autoionization and Multiplication,” Nano Letters 20, 3098 (2020).X. He et al., “Wafer-Scale Monodomain Films of Spontaneously Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes,” Nature Nanotechnology 11, 633 (2016).W. Gao and J. Kono, “Science and Applications of Wafer-Scale Crystalline Carbon Nanotube Films Prepared through Controlled Vacuum Filtration,” Royal Society Open Science 6, 181605 (2019).F. Katsutani et al., “Direct Observation of Cross-Polarized Excitons in Aligned Single-Chirality Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes,” Physical Review B 99, 035426 (2019).W. Gao et al., “Macroscopically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes as a Refractory Platform for Hyperbolic Thermal Emitters,” ACS Photonics 6, 1602 (2019).N. Komatsu et al., “Groove-Assisted Global Spontaneous Alignment of Carbon Nanotubes in Vacuum Filtration,” Nano Letters 20, 2332 (2020).A. Baydin et al., “Giant Terahertz Polarization Rotation in Ultrathin Films of Aligned Carbon Nanotubes,” Optica 8, 760 (2021).

(Digital Presentation) Thermoelectric and Electronic Transport Studies of Ultrahigh-Conductivity Aligned Carbon Nanotube Assemblies

Macroscopic assemblies of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been doubling in conductivity every three years and have now surpassed 10 MS/m [1]. They are promising for replacing copper- or aluminum-based electrical cables in applications where flexibility or weight savings are critical considerations. Understanding of transport processes in these ordered CNT assemblies is critical towards further conductivity improvement; yet, fiber-level transport is still poorly understood. Here, we studied thermoelectric and electrical properties of aligned CNT fibers and bundles produced by solution spinning. We first measured thermoelectric properties while tuning the Fermi energy and demonstrated a giant thermoelectric power factor [2]. We then performed temperature- and magnetic field-dependent conductivity measurements. In contrast to the majority of transport studies of CNT networks [3,4], our aligned CNT fibers exhibited a metallic behavior in a wide temperature range (30-300 K), i.e., conductivity monotonically increasing with decreasing temperature, which we attribute to the excellent sample morphology. At temperatures below 30 K, we observed a gradual decrease of conductivity with decreasing temperature, together with negative magnetoresistance, consistent with the weak localization theory for disordered metals. We determined the dimensionality and coherence lengths of carriers via analysis of the weak localization behavior. In addition to macroscopic CNT fibers with diameters of ~10 μm, we also conducted conductivity measurements on individual crystalline CNT bundles (with diameters ~ 50 nm and lengths ~ 30 μm) that constitute the fibers.

Investigation of Electrical and Thermal Properties of Epoxy Resin/Silicon Carbide Whisker Composites for Electronic Packaging Materials

This article explores the potential of epoxy resin/silicon carbide whisker (EP/SiCw) composites (1 wt%, 2 wt%, 3 wt%, 4 wt%, 5 wt%) as the field-dependent conductivity (FDC) packaging materials for the high-voltage power modules by investigating their thermal and electrical properties at different temperatures. The cross-sectional morphology of the prepared materials is characterized by field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The thermal analysis consists of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The electrical properties, such as dc conductivity, dielectric spectroscopy, thermally stimulated discharge current (TSDC), space charge distribution, and dc breakdown strength, are measured. The molecular orbital energy levels of the EP and SiCw monomers are calculated by quantum chemical calculation (QCC) to analyze the effect of EP interfacial trap sites on the electrical properties. The effect of the EP/SiCw interfacial charges and electrical field distortion on the electrical properties of the EP/SiCw composites with different filler content is investigated by the finite-element method (FEM) simulation. It is found that the 2 wt% EP/SiCw composite has a better thermal performance. The 1 wt% has lower real permittivity, lower trap density, lower space charge accumulation, and higher breakdown strength. The EP/SiCw composites have a higher trap level than the pure EP. The nonlinearity percolation threshold of the EP/SiCw composites is 3 wt%. As the filler content increases, the nonlinear conductivity coefficient of the EP/SiCw composites becomes higher, whereas the breakdown strength decreases due to the electric field distortion near the electrodes caused by the apparent hetero charge accumulation at high filler content.

Magneto-transport properties of monolayer borophene in perpendicular magnetic field: influence of electron-phonon interaction

The magneto-transport properties of a borophene monolayer in a perpendicular magnetic field B are studied via calculating the conductivity tensor and resistance under electron-optical phonon interaction by using the linear response theory. Numerical results are obtained and discussed for some specific parameters. The magnetic field-dependent longitudinal conductivity shows the magneto-phonon resonance effect that describes the transition of electrons between Landau levels by absorbing/emitting an optical phonon. The Hall conductivity increases first and then decreases with the magnetic field strength. Also, the longitudinal resistance increases significantly with increasing temperature, which shows the metal behaviour of the material. Practically, the observed magneto-phonon resonance can be applied to experimentally determine some material parameters, such as the distance between Landau levels and the optical phonon energy.

Stress Control for Polymeric Outdoor Insulators Using Nonlinear Resistive Field Grading Materials Operating Under Different Conditions

Strong electric field enhancements near both end fittings of the high-voltage polymeric outdoor insulator contribute to premature degradation and aging. Nonlinear resistive field grading composites offer a promising possibility to stress control and more competitive products, especially with the increasing power density and voltage levels. Recently, new nonlinear resistive field grading materials (FGMs) based on zinc oxide (ZnO) microvaristors offer superior characteristics that enable using them in high-voltage systems. Moreover, their switching parameters can be tailored across an extensive range for a given application. This article discusses the effectiveness of nonlinear FGMs based on ZnO microvaristors for stress control along a 230-kV polymeric outdoor insulator using the finite-element method and COMSOL Multiphysics. Investigations are conducted to appropriately find out the electrical properties of the nonlinear FGMs to get an effective stress control along the insulator surface. The different areas in the <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${E}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> – <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sigma $ </tex-math></inline-formula> plane where the conductivity of FGMs should lie are determined based on the criteria relevant to the polymeric outdoor insulator under normal and abnormal operating conditions. A new mathematical formula to express the field-dependent conductivity of FGMs is proposed to consider the saturation effect in high-field regions. Two different insulator models equipped with nonlinear resistive FGMs are presented and evaluated under different operating conditions, ac and overvoltages. In addition, the generated resistive loss within the FGMs and the leakage current under power frequency operation are evaluated. Finally, we studied the possibility of using nonlinear FGMs for polymeric outdoor insulators in HVDC systems.

Evaluation of PbTe and SnTe as ohmic contact layers in CdTe solar cell devices

For solar cells based on CdTe, the choice of a suitable back contact material is limited by CdTe’s deep work function. Here, we explored p-type PbTe and SnTe as ohmic contacts to CdTe. These contact layers were grown on single crystal CdTe substrates by molecular beam epitaxy, and the valence band offset between film and substrate was measured using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Polycrystalline device structures were also grown by sublimation to assess performance improvements. Doping was achieved in PbTe by thallium incorporation. Only the highest Tl doped PbTe resulted in a desirable band alignment with the CdTe, forming an electron reflector and no hole barrier. Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements also revealed significant photocarrier lifetime improvements for only the highest doped PbTe. Consequentially, devices incorporating the highest doped PbTe layers showed increased power conversion efficiency, primarily from increased fill factor. Doping of the PbTe was measured via Hall effect with variable magnetic field, which was required due to the formation of an n-type parasitic interface layer. To properly interpret the variable field Hall measurements, we derived an expression for the magnetic field-dependent conductivity tensor of an L-valley semiconductor.

Investigations on structural, microstructural and electrical properties of sol–gel spin coated Bi0.85La0.15FeO3 thin film

In this communication, structural, microstructural and low magnetic field influenced dielectric and impedance have been investigated for low cost chemically grown Bi0·85La0·15FeO3 thin film grown on FTO glass substrate by using sol–gel spin coating method. X–ray diffraction (XRD) reveals the successful growth of Bi0·85La0·15FeO3 film on FTO substrate. Surface morphology of the film has been examined by scanning probe method. Magnetoelectric (ME) properties of the film have been understood at room temperature. Magnetic field influenced dielectric behavior has been systematically investigated in the frequency range of 20 Hz to 2 MHz. The magnetic field induced alterations in the dielectric constant and impedance behavior at different frequencies confirm the complex nature of ME coupling between spin and lattice of BLFO film. Magnetic field dependent conductivity behaviors show a complex governance of charge carrier movements by the lattice disorder effect and spin alignment of iron ions in the BLFO lattice.

Investigation of High Voltage Polymeric Insulators Performance under Wet Pollution.

In this paper, a unique approach based on electrical characteristics observed from measurements of contaminated polymeric insulators was established to calculate the electric field distribution over their surfaces. A case study using two different 33 kV polymeric insulator geometric profiles was performed to highlight the benefits of the proposed modeling approach. The conductance of the pollution layer was tested to establish a nonlinear field-dependent conductivity for pollution modeling. The leakage current (LC) of the polluted insulator was measured in a laboratory under clean and wet conditions. Then, using the finite element method (FEM), the electric field and current density distributions along the insulator were computed. The results showed that the insulators experienced an increase in the electric field (EF) magnitude ranging from 0.3 kV/cm to 3.6 kV/cm for the insulator with similar sheds (type I) and 2.2–4.5 kV/cm for the insulator with alternating sheds (big and small, type II) under the high rain condition with a flow rate of 9 L/h. Meanwhile, the highest electric field under fog was 1.74 kV/cm for the insulator with similar sheds and 2.32 kV/cm for an insulator with alternating sheds. Due to the larger diameter on the big shed and the longer leakage distance on the insulator with alternating sheds, the EF on the insulator with alternating sheds is higher than the EF on the insulator with similar sheds. The proposed modeling and simulation provided a detailed field condition estimation around the insulators. This is critical for forecasting the emergence of dry bands and the commencement of flashover on the surfaces of the insulators.

Packaging Design of 15 kV SiC Power Devices With High-Voltage Encapsulation

Silicon carbide (SiC) is capable of improving the blocking voltage of power devices. It is essential to package SiC power devices for high-voltage applications. This article proposes a high-voltage packaging method for &#x003E;15-kV SiC power devices by designing an optimized stacked direct bond copper (DBC) substrate with a copper ring and a field-dependent conductivity (FDC) encapsulation using SiC as the filler. The proposed FDC encapsulation is proven as a promising encapsulation as commercial silicone. The partial discharge initial voltage (PDIV) of the demonstrated module using the proposed method can be improved to at least 18.31 kV, which is increased by 163.77&#x0025; compared with the typical 34-mm insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules. The maximum voltage rating of the demonstrated module could be enhanced to at least 15 kV with a sufficient protection margin, i.e., 20&#x0025;. It gives guidance to the packaging of &#x003E;15-kV SiC power devices.

Field-Dependent Pollution Model under Polluted Environments for Outdoor Polymeric Insulators.

In-depth understanding of the pollution problems such as dry bands and the polymeric aging process requires better determination of electric field strength and its distribution over the polymeric surface. To determine the electric field distribution over the insulator surface, this research proposes utilizing a novel approach model based on nonlinear electrical characteristics derived from experimental results for polluted polymer insulators. A case study was carried out for a typical 11 kV polymeric insulator to underline the merits of this new modeling approach. The developments of the proposed pollution model and the subsequent computational works are described in detail. The study is divided into two main stages; laboratory measurements and computer simulations. In the first stage, layer conductance tests were carried out to develop nonlinear field-dependent conductivity for the pollution modeling. In the second part, equipotential and electric field distributions along the leakage were computed using the finite element method (FEM). Comparative field studies showed that the simulation using the proposed dynamic pollution model results in more detailed and realistic field profiles around insulators. This may be useful to predict the formation of dry bands and the initiation of electrical discharges on the polymeric surface.

Temperature-dependent magnetodielectric, magnetoimpedance, and magnetic field controlled dielectric relaxation response in KBiFe2O5

In this work, polycrystalline KBiFe2O5 (KBFO), belonging to the brownmillerite class of monoclinic structure with space group P2/c, is synthesized using a solid-state reaction route. Magnetodielectric (MD) and magnetoimpedance (MI) characteristics of KBFO are studied over a wide temperature (10–300 K), magnetic field (0–1.3 T), and frequency (100 Hz to 1 MHz) range. Zero-field-cool (ZFC) and field-cool (FC) magnetization data show a bifurcation around 11 K, indicating blocking temperature (TB). At room temperature, MD and MI data as a function of the magnetic field shows maximum MD and MI coupling to be ∼−0.6% and ∼0.7%, respectively, at 50 kHz. With the decrease in temperature from 300 K to 50 K, magnetodielectric strength decreases (−0.6% to −0.06%), whereas magnetization increases from canted-antiferromagnetic (MS ≈ 0.16 emu g−1) to a weak ferromagnetic state (MS ≈ 0.44 emu g−1). It indicates the existence of Inverse Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction causing MD coupling in KBFO. MD behavior is also reflected in magnetic field-dependent dielectric relaxation phenomena demonstrated through magnetic field-dependent activation energies. The difference in activation energies of magnetic field-dependent conduction mechanism (Eg ≈ 0.370 ± 0.018 eV) and MD loss relaxation (Eg ≈ 0.183 ± 0.006 eV) indicate both have a different origin. The presence of the capacitive MI effect demonstrates that the observed magnetodielectric coupling is intrinsic. The existence of both temperatures-dependent MD and MI coupling in KBFO makes it suitable for dynamic random access memory as well as novel magnetic sensors.

Tailoring Electric Field Distortion in High-Voltage Power Modules Utilizing Epoxy Resin/Silicon Carbide Whisker Composites with Field-Dependent Conductivity

This paper reports the performance of an epoxy resin/silicon carbide whisker (EP/SiCw) composite (1–5 wt %) as the field-dependent conductivity (FDC) layer for electric field reduction in the high-voltage power module. The experiments consist of a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), thermal conductivity, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermally stimulated discharge current (TSDC), space charge, DC conductivity, and dielectric spectroscopy. The DC conductivity and dielectric spectroscopy are used for DC and AC stationary electric field simulations, respectively. The electric field reduction of EP/SiCw composites in the power module is analyzed, and the void defect in the FDC layer is also identified. The observed percolation threshold of the EP/SiCw composites is 3 wt %, and the DC electric field near the triple point decreases significantly by 74.8% under 10 kV when a 5 wt % EP/SiCw composite is applied for the FDC layer. It was found that the efficient threshold operating frequency of the FDC layer is around 10 kHz. The FDC layer can significantly reduce the electric field under AC voltage below 10 kHz. Although the power loss with the FDC layer increases obviously without the FDC layer, it is still lower than 1 W at 1 MHz, which is negligible for industrial applications. Notably, the void in the FDC layer is identified by the slowly increased dielectric loss with the increase of frequency through dielectric spectroscopy simulation.

Computational model of electroconvulsive therapy considering electric field dependent skin conductivity

Computational model of electroconvulsive therapy considering electric field dependent skin conductivity