Dielectric strength of parylene HT

Abstract

The dielectric strength of parylene HT (PA-HT) films was studied at room temperature in a wide thickness range from 500 nm to 50 μm and was correlated with nano- and microstructure analyses. X-ray diffraction and polarized optical microscopy have revealed an enhancement of crystallization and spherulites development, respectively, with increasing the material thickness (d). Moreover, a critical thickness dC (between 5 and 10 μm) is identified corresponding to the beginning of spherulite developments in the films. Two distinct behaviors of the dielectric strength (FB) appear in the thickness range. For d ≤ dC, PA-HT films exhibit a decrease in the breakdown field following a negative slope (FB ∼ d -0.4), while for d