Breakdown characteristics found during the anodic growth of aluminum oxide start with a range of rapid increase in the rate of breakdown R r . This is followed by a range of saturation, when observations are not disturbed by propagating breakdowns. The mean value of R r can be subject to some variations in the saturation range. The breakdown characteristics shift to lower voltages with increasing field of anodization. The observations agree with predictions of the succession of avalanche breakdown theory. The reason for variations of R r in the saturation range is not clear. The coefficient of impact ionization at a field of 8.7 MV/cm was found to be roughly 2 × 10 5 mcm . Compared with tantalum pentoxide the breakdown characteristics of aluminum oxide show a relatively poor reproducibility.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Klein et al. (1980) studied this question.