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Breakdown Rates Under Extreme Fields
Eli Engelberg , Ayelet Yashar , Yinon Ashkenazy , Michael Assaf , Inna Popov
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Plastic response due to dislocation activity is proposed as a source of breakdown of metals subject to an intense electric field. A model is formulated based on stochastic multiplication and arrest of mobile dislocations under the stress generated by the field. A critical transition in the dislocation population is suggested as the cause of protrusion formation leading to subsequent arcing.
The model is studied using Monte Carlo simulations and theoretical analysis, yielding a simplified dependence of the breakdown rates on the electric field, and providing, for the first time, results which agree, qualitatively and quantitatively, with breakdown rates measured in experiments. Microscopical observations supporting the model are described, and further experiments are proposed to validate the model. Such a validation will serve, among other applications, to significantly advance development in the CERN Compact Linear Collider collaboration, since the accelerating gradients achieved at present are limited by the electrode breakdown rate.