Experimental study on electrical breakdown for devices with micrometer gaps

The understanding of electrical breakdown in atmospheric air across micrometer gaps is critically important for the insulation design of micro & nano electronic devices. In this paper, planar aluminum electrodes with gaps ranging from 2 μm to 40 μm were fabricated by microelectromechanical system technology. The influence factors including gap width and surface dielectric states were experimentally investigated using the home-built test and measurement system. Results showed that for SiO₂ layers the current sustained at 2-3 nA during most of the pre-breakdown period, and then rose rapidly to 10-30 nA just before breakdown due to field electron emission, followed by the breakdown. The breakdown voltage curves demonstrated three stages: (1) a constantly decreasing region (the gap width d < 5 μm), where the field emission effect played an important role just near breakdown, supplying enough initial electrons for the breakdown process; (2) a plateau region with a near constant breakdown potential (5 μm < d < 10 μm); (3) a region for large gaps that adhered to Paschen's curve (d > 10 μm). And the surface dielectric states including the surface resistivity and secondary electron yield were verified to be related to the propagation of discharge due to the interaction between initial electrons and dielectrics.