A study of absorption currents in polypropylene

Abstract

Charging and discharging current transients in polypropylene films were measured over a wide range of temperatures and electric fields. Some limited studies of the behaviour of these current transients were also made with different electrode materials and sample thicknesses. The experimental evidence suggests that the absorption current in the temperature range 83-270K may be caused mainly by dipolar processes associated with structural motions. At temperatures above approximately 270K the absorption current may be attributed to a carrier hopping process.