TY - JOUR A1 - Qiu, Xunlin A1 - Mellinger, Axel A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Gerhard, Reimund T1 - Spectroscopic study of dielectric barrier discharges in cellular polypropylene ferroelectrets N2 - The transient light emission from the dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) in cellular polypropylene ferroelectrets subjected to high electric poling fields was spectroscopically measured. The spectrum shows strong emission from the second positive system of molecular nitrogen, N-2(C (3)Pi(u))-> N-2(B (3)Pi(g)), and the first negative system of N-2(+), N-2(+)(B (2)Sigma(+)(u))-> N-2(+)(X (2)Sigma(+)(g)), consistent with a DBD in air. When a dc voltage is applied stepwise to the ferroelectret film, light emission starts above a threshold, coinciding with the threshold voltage in obtaining piezoelectricity. From selected vibronic band strength ratios, the electric field in the discharge was determined and found to agree with Townsend breakdown. Y1 - 2007 UR - http://apl.aip.org/ U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2786597 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Qiu, Xunlin A1 - Mellinger, Axel A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Gerhard, Reimund T1 - Dielectric barrier discharges during the generation of ferroelectrets : optical spectroscopy for process monitoring Y1 - 2007 SN - 978-1-4244-1482-6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Qiu, Xunlin A1 - Mellinger, Axel A1 - Wegener, Michael A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Gerhard, Reimund T1 - Barrier discharges in cellular polypropylene ferroelectrets : how do they influence the electromechanical properties? Y1 - 2007 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Qiu, Xunlin A1 - Gerhard, Reimund A1 - Mellinger, Axel T1 - Turning polymer foams or polymer-film systems into ferroelectrets dielectric barrier discharges in voids JF - IEEE transactions on dielectrics and electrical insulation N2 - Polymer foams and void-containing polymer-film systems with internally charged voids combine large piezoelectricity with mechanical flexibility and elastic compliance. This new class of soft materials (often called ferro-or piezoelectrets) has attracted considerable attention from science and industry. It has been found that the voids can be internally charged by means of dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) under high electric fields. The charged voids can be considered as man-made macroscopic dipoles. Depending on the ferroelectret structure and the pressure of the internal gas, the voids may be highly compressible. Consequently, very large dipole-moment changes can be induced by mechanical or electrical stresses, leading to large piezoelectricity. DBD charging of the voids is a critical process for rendering polymer foams piezoelectric. Thus a comprehensive exploration of DBD charging is essential for the understanding and the optimization of piezoelectricity in ferroelectrets. Recent studies show that DBDs in the voids are triggered when the internal electric field reaches a threshold value according to Townsend's model of Paschen breakdown. During the DBDs, charges of opposite polarity are generated and trapped at the top and bottom internal surfaces of the gas-filled voids, respectively. The deposited charges induce an electric field opposite to the externally applied one and thus extinguish the DBDs. Back discharges may eventually be triggered when the external voltage is reduced or turned off. In order to optimize the efficiency of DBD charging, the geometry (in particular the height) of the voids, the type of gas and its pressure inside the voids are essential factors to be considered and to be optimized. In addition, the influence of the plasma treatment on the internal void surfaces during the DBDs should be taken into consideration. KW - Ferroelectret KW - piezoelectret KW - dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) KW - effective polarization KW - man-made dipole Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TDEI.2011.5704490 SN - 1070-9878 VL - 18 IS - 1 SP - 34 EP - 42 PB - Inst. of Electr. and Electronics Engineers CY - Piscataway ER -