Reliability of High-Voltage Molding Compounds: Particle Size, Curing Time, Sample Thickness, and Voltage Impact on Polarization

Reliability of dielectric composite materials (DCMs) is a multifaceted problem. Both high voltage and dimensional miniaturization decrease the path length for charge dissipation in the DCMs. This results in short life due to charge entrapment and uncontrolled release. The source of trapped charges in the DCM arises due to the intrinsic interfacial polarization in the filled system. From the compound perspective, at least four interacting variables are involved in determining relative reliability of DCMs: filler size, curing time, thickness, and polarization voltage magnitude. Experimental and data analysis of all four variables, with uncertainty propagated for each factor, is paramount to understanding behavior of each property and its interactions, shaping DCMs characteristics. Combining views from The Design of Experiments (Fisher, 1935), modern statistics (Hand, 2008), and analytical computer software (NIST Dataplot 2015) yields a free graphic user interface tool to optimize the design of compound mixtures to minimize the polarization for increased reliability.