Abstract
Post-irradiation studies have been carried out to elucidate the effects of electron beams on the electrical conduction mechanism in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) thin films. The irradiation process was performed in air at room temperature by use of a 1.5 MeV electron accelerator at different doses: 30, 295, 540 and 1080 kGy, respectively. The
I–
V characteristics for the un-irradiated and irradiated HDPE thin films in the temperature range of 303–373 K and at applied electric fields up to 6
×
10
4 V/cm were measured. The results exhibit non-ohmic behavior in this regime and the analysis of data shows the existence of space charge limited conduction in the HDPE thin films. Also, the density of the localized state near the Fermi level was calculated for the samples. In addition, the temperature dependence of the current as a function of dose was studied which implies an increase in the electrical activation energy. In turn, this explains the result that the higher the dose, the higher the mobility obtained.