Reversible dielectric polymers with switchable conduction and insulation for electrostatic protection

The pursuit of power density and integration in advanced electronic devices poses a risk of electrostatic discharge to traditional packaging materials. Albeit optimizing the insulation performance of packaging materials seems to be an effective strategy, long-term charge accumulation will seriously threaten the reliability of devices. Here, we fabricate an adaptive field grading material that can transition between insulating and conductive states, enabling the rapid dissipation of charges during electrostatic discharge events. A silicon carbide-derived nanofiber mat with a “step-by-step” double Schottky barrier was synthesized using electrospinning. The coordination between the insulating epoxy-based matrix and the oriented semiconductor fiber mat achieves desirable electric field grading performance at ultra-low content (0.3 vol%), and the switching electric field of the insulation-conductive transition can be precisely customized through the nanofiber mat content. Given the diversity between insulating polymers and metal oxides, these findings have prominent guiding significance for electrostatic protection of numerous electronic devices.