Space charge in submicron cavities by quantum electrodynamics?

Space charge has been related to the aging of polyethylene (PE) under high electrical DC fields. For fields >10-20 kV/mm, the amorphous phase is deformed causing nanovoids to grow to submicron (<1 (/spl mu/m) cavities by the chain scission of PE molecules. Once the cavities are formed, space charge is generally thought produced by partial discharge. But the mean free path (MFP) of air at or below atmospheric pressure is larger than submicron dimensions, and therefore an alternative mechanism is suggested. Nicely suited are mechanisms that rely on quantum electrodynamics (QED) and take advantage of the inherent nature of submicron cavities to have an electromagnetic (EM) resonance beyond the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV). In QED, the infrared (IR) radiation from atoms in the penetration depth of the resonant VUV radiation standing across the QED cavities is suppressed. Since the suppressed IR radiation can only be conserved by an equivalent gain of EM energy at the resonant frequency of the QED cavity, the suppressed IR radiation is induced to undergo spontaneous frequency up-conversion to the VUV, the process called cavity QED induced EM radiation. Subsequently, the VUV irradiation of impurities in the PE produces electrons leaving positive charged ions that form the space charge.