Implications of high field conductivity in solid dielectrics

In a discussion of high-field conductivity in solid dielectrics, the author inquires as to whether the limiting field is a strong function of the high field conduction model chosen and the model chosen causes substantial variations of other important parameters such as the power density in the high field region. The analysis is based on the AC conduction data of T. M. Tokoro et al. (1992), measured as a function of electric field and temperature. It is suggested that, if a defect-tolerant dielectric could be developed, it would be thermally stable for reasonable defects and power frequency application. Power dissipation and temperature rise do not appear to be strong functions of the model for /spl sigma/(E) when /spl sigma/(E)=/spl omega//spl epsi/ at the same fixed value of E. As a result, a defect-tolerant dielectric appears to be theoretically feasible.<>