Predicting the Hold-off Strength of Gas Gapped Dielectric Systems on the Sub-millimeter Scale

As components become more compressed on printed circuit boards, the need to accurately model and understand the role of electrical breakdown in combined gas dielectric systems increases for sub-millimeter gap sizes.  To this end, we will discuss two models. The first model addresses stochastic time delay of breakdown initiation in various gasses.  The second model utilizes a first principles approach to predict the breakdown strength of a conducting pin to dielectric coated plane, both through and across the dielectric.  The stochastic time delay model uses a Monte Carlo approach which was compared experimentally to a statistically significant number of electrically conductive pin-to-plane breakdown events; we discuss agreement and possible sources of discrepancy between the model and experiment.  For the first principles model, we again present comparison with experiment and discuss the role of dielectric strength with respect to coating thickness in accurately predicting breakdown through the dielectric.  Finally, we discuss the influence of voltage rise-time on the dielectric system’s hold-off strength.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.