Space charge distributions in thermally poled polyethylene

Electroded and annealed polyethylene-films were thermally poled and the recently-developed Laser Intensity Modulation Method (LIMM) was used to measure the spatial distributions o-f both polarization and space charge through the thickness o-f the samples. Polarization due to the orientation o-f impurity dipoles and trapped space charge interacted in a complex manner to produce the pyroelectric currents excited by laser beam heating o-f the electrets. Comparisons are made with results obtained on thermally poled polyvinylidene fluoride.