Breakdown strength of plasma polymer films synthesized from trifluoro-methane and ethylene

The electrical breakdown field of plasma polymer films was studied by applying rectangular voltage pulses. It is shown that the breakdown process can be classified according to the width of the applied voltage pulses; the process is electronic for pulses shorter than 5 μs and is thermal for longer pulses. When the breakdown process is electronic, the breakdown field increases by the introduction of a proper amount of fluorine, probably due to the scattering of electronic carriers. For pulses longer than 5 μs, the breakdown is caused by a thermal process due to the current injected through tunneling.