HIGH ENERGY ELECTRON TRANSPORT IN PARAFFIN.

It is known that high energy electrons play an important role in triggering the damage process in the dielectrics. Energetic electrons are emitted from stress concentration sites and injected into the solid polymeric insulators, where they can break chemical bonds and create free radicals or initiate electron avalanches. In order to investigate the transport properties of the hot electrons, paraffin is used as model material, and the interfacial photoemission technique to inject electrons into it. The photoelectrons leaving the metal substrate and passing through the material are energy analyzed by the retarding potential method. The shape and the magnitude of the energy distribution curves at different sample thicknesses and irradiation energies give information about the energy loss process.