Directional Breakdown in Alkali Halide Crystals

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Abstract
The dc breakdown strength of sodium chloride, shown by von Hippel and Davisson to be independent of orientation at room temperature, also proves to be direction-independent at liquid nitrogen temperature. Experiments at room temperature reveal the existence of three types of breakdown paths: anodic, cathodic, and homogeneous field paths. Anodic paths are initiated by prebreakdown discharges at the anode and are precisely orientated with respect to the crystallographic axes. Cathodic breakdown paths are initiated at point cathodes; their direction dependence differs from that of anodic paths. Finally, in strictly homogeneous fields the paths follow the direction of the field.

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