Thermally stimulated currents in polyethylene

In recent investigations of the electrical conductivity of organic high polymers, evidence has accumulated, indicating that in many polymers the charging and discharging currents, or at least parts thereof, may be attributed to the movement of electronic rather than ionic charge. The measurement of non-isothermal discharge or thermally stimulated currents (TSC) can thus yield information on the trapping parameters of the traps of various types, which are generally held to be present in organic polymers, as well as on classical polarization phenomena, i.e, dipole orientation.