Advanced capacitors

An experimental development program was conducted to develop and test advanced dielectric materials for capacitors for airborne power systems. High rep rate and low rate capacitors for use in pulse-forming networks, high voltage filter capacitors, and high frequency ac capacitors for series resonant inverters were considered. The initial goal was to develop an improved polysulfone film. Initially, low breakdown strength was thought to be related to inclusions of conductive particles. The effect of filtration of the casting solution was investigated. These experiments showed that more filtration was not the entire solution to low breakdown. The film samples were found to contain dissolved ionic impurities that move through the dielectric when voltage is applied and cause enhancement of the electric field. These contaminants enter the film via the resin and solvent, and can be partially removed. However, these treatments did not significantly improve the breakdown characteristics. A new material, Ultem, was proposed for use in high energy density capacitors. This new polyetherimide resin has properties similar to polysulfone and polyimide, with improvement in breakdown characteristics and temperature capability. The technique of casting films on a roughened drum was demonstrated, and found useful in preparing textured films. this is the first step toward a replacement for kraft paper.