THE VOLTAGE-DEPENDENCE OF SWITCHING IN A POLYMER CURRENT LIMITER DEVICE

The electrical switching properties of a polymer current limiter devic e are studied as a function of applied voltage. For voltages ranging f rom 1 to 400 V, the switching ratio of the device is observed to vary by more than two orders of magnitude and exhibits a maximum around 200 V. Three different regimes of operation are identified based on the a ccompanying phenomena. A qualitative model which includes the positive temperature coefficient of resistance effect, an ablation-induced con tact separation mechanism, and the effect of dielectric breakdown is d eveloped to explain the observations in the three regimes. (C) 1998 Am erican Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(98)06222-7]