Physicists confirm quantum tunneling drives polymer insulator breakdown

Researchers at Russia's Ioffe Institute reported in the Journal of Applied Physics that field ionization via quantum tunneling, not impact ionization, causes electrical breakdown in polymer dielectrics. For PET, a Coulomb barrier model fit best and yielded equations predicting time to failure.

• Polymer breakdown tied to quantum tunneling, not impact ionization
• Coulomb barrier model fit PET better than triangular barrier
• New equations predict time before insulator failure
• Relevant to film capacitors and power electronics