dc surface flashover mechanism along solids in vacuum based on a collision-ionization model

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Abstract
Selected experimental results are presented from an extensive experimental investigation of dc prebreakdown and breakdown processes in vacuum along solid insulators made of a variety of alumina ceramics and polymers. The investigations included measurements of predischarge current, x-ray intensity, insulator surface charge density, breakdown behavior as influenced by insulator surface characteristics and insulator profiles, and the analysis of the spectral characteristics associated with insulator surface luminescence. The prebreakdown and breakdown phenomena were found to be strongly influenced by surface microstructure and the chemical state of the insulator surface. The experimentally observed phenomena in our studies strongly point to a new breakdown model based on collision-ionization by electrons of defect sites and/or traps within the dielectric subsurface at the vacuum interface.