Phenomena in aikali-halide crystals in superstrong electrical fields

The highest electrical hardness of solid dielectrics (SD) is provided by electrical breakdown form. A.F.Ioffe has suggested that electrical breakdown of SD (EBSD) depends on impact ionization by ions. A.Hippel, G.Fröhlich and their followers have suggested the EBSD mechanism because of impact ionization by electrons. Its obligatory consequence - an electrical hardnessing - was not confirmed experimentally for a long time. In [1] producing methods of SD massive samples with thickness of 1 mc which gave the possibility to establish an electrical hardnessing in alkali-halide crystals(AHC), organic glass, celluloid, polyethylen [2,3] are shown. In micron SD layers one can make so strong electrical fields without breakdown with which impact ionization by electrons, electroluminescence (EL) and other phenomena taking place only in thick patterns with breakdown are observed. These phenomena provide thick layer dielectric breakdown. The aggregation of these phenomena gives a new branch of physics of dielectrics-the area of superstrong electrical fields (SEF).