The role of electron extinction in the breakdown strength of nanocomposite capacitors

Abstract

A first-principles theory of electrical breakdown in nanocomposite capacitors, which considers the trapping and scattering (extinction) of electrons originating from the presence of nanoinclusions in the polymer matrix, is developed. The breakdown strength relative to its value for a neat polymer is expressed in terms of two parameters, one of which is determined by the volume density of the nanoinclusion polarizability and the other one is proportional to the electron trap surface density around an inclusion, while the effect of electron scattering is shown to be insignificant. A comparison of the theoretical predictions with diverse experimental data demonstrates an excellent agreement and suggests an effective tool for the design of nanocomposite capacitors.