Large area dielectric breakdown under pulsed conditions

Dielectric materials are a critical component of pulsed power systems. Often times these materials are the limiting factor in system design and operation. To aid in the understanding and prediction of the breakdown of polypropylene under pulsed operating conditions experimental evaluation and analysis of large area 50.8 cm×121.9 cm (20"×48") sheets of 1.59 mm (1/16 in). polypropylene material between aluminum plates were explored. Accelerated lifetime tests in the thousands of shots range were made with various types of coating on the aluminum electrodes and with bare electrodes. The aluminum and polypropylene were assembled under vacuum and sealed along the plate edges. Testing was conducted utilizing pulses with two different damped ringing shapes. This paper describes the testing configuration and process, followed by a discussion of the breakdown data and how it relates to historical test results.