The Electrical Breakdown Strength of Ionic Crystals as a Function of Temperature

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Abstract
It has been generally believed that the breakdown strength of an insulator is constant in the lower temperature range and decreases rapidly at high temperatures, indicating thermal breakdown. The authors show that, at least in ionic crystals like KBr, a very steep increase of breakdown strength with temperature is recorded in the lower range. This new phenomenon in insulators is apparently analogous to the temperature coefficient of the resistance in metals. It allows us to decide between the different theories of breakdown proposed.