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Title: Evidence of hot electron-induced chemical degradation in electroluminescence spectra of polyethylene

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2875165· OSTI ID:21133961
;  [1]
  1. Laboratoire Plasma et Conversion d'Energie (LAPLACE), Universite de Toulouse, CNRS-UPS-INPT, Bat.3R3, 118, Route de Narbonne, Toulouse 31062 (France)

Unlike semiconducting organics, insulating polymers exhibit electroluminescence features that cannot be interpreted on the basis of the photophysical properties of the material. In particular, it is shown for the first time that the spectral components observed in electroluminescence of polyethylene can only be reproduced when the material is irradiated by an electron beam. This shows that hot electron impact is a driving process in electroluminescence and that the excited states decay route goes along the chemical pathway ending with molecular fragmentation. From these results, electroluminescence and electrical degradation can be associated in an implicit scheme, opening the way for defining safety limits in terms of electric stresses applied to a material for a given application.

OSTI ID:
21133961
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 103, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2875165; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English