Thermo-Stimulated Depolarization Currents in polyethylene films. Numerical simulations and experiments

Thermo-Stimulated Depolarization Current (TSDC) is used as a sensitive tool to probe residual space charge in insulations. However, quantitative information is difficult to extract as the response depends on the nature and position of trapped carriers. A model, developed to reproduce the behavior of space charge in a low-density polyethylene under electrical stress, is used to simulate the TSDC results. The model is one dimensional (sample thickness). Temperature effects have been introduced by using a hopping type of mobility, detrapping and charge injection also having temperature dependencies. Different parameters of the model are tested in order to evaluate their impact on the predicted TSDC spectrum.