Bulk breakdown of high field silicon-dielectric systems

Preliminary results on bulk breakdown in high field silicon-dielectric systems are reported. In most cases the total breakdown of the above systems takes place by surface flashover. Bulk breakdown in high field semiconductor-dielectric systems is supposed to be produced only when one or more large filaments are developed in the bulk of the material due to a particular defect configuration. The characteristics of the bulk breakdown of the system are totally different from surface flashover. These differences are explained by the different physical nature of the two kinds of the breakdown of the system, one located in the material bulk and other at the semiconductor-dielectric interface.>