Space charge formation and charge transport in epoxy resin at varied temperatures

In order to investigate space charge behavior and charge transport characteristics of epoxy resin, complex dielectric permittivity and conduction current were measured at various temperatures from 20 to 200°C. Space charge distributions polarized at these temperatures were measured at room temperature. At temperatures above 100°C, significant accumulation of heteropolar space charges, most likely due to ions, is seen around the cathode/sample interface. Furthermore, both the real and imaginary parts of complex permittivity increase to remarkably high values at these high temperatures. It seems that such increase in permittivity is ascribable to the electrode polarization due to the hetero-charge accumulation. These results indicate that the dielectric behavior in epoxy resin is mainly governed by the electronic charge injection at relatively low temperatures below 100°C and by the transport of ionic carriers at high temperatures above 100°C.