An experimental method for the distinction between bulk polarization and surface charging

Abstract

When a step-like electric field is applied to an insulator between two plane parallel electrodes, the current which flows to the structure after the normal charging is time dependent and can often be described by a power law I(t) t ∼t−α. This relation is called the “Curie-von Schweidler law” it was discovered about 70 years ago. Different interpretations of this law are treated in literature e.g. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5].