DC electrical treeing phenomena and space charge

Influence of space charge on dc tree propagation is studied using many insulating polymer materials under divergent fields. The inception voltage and the propagation of dc treeing are affected strongly by space charge. Space charge formation in polymers was observed directly by using thermally stimulated current (TSC) techniques under divergent field. These results of the space charge effect on dc treeing phenomena are consistent with those obtained by the TSC method. From these results, the origin of space charge in polymers and the suppression techniques for space charge formation were discussed.