Dispersive hopping transport in polyethylene

It is generally accepted that the conduction mechanism in low density polyethylenes without additives is due to a hopping transport of injected electrons. Earlier publications showed that carbonyl groups in the bulk may act as hopping sites. The aim of this paper is to present a transport model*) which describes the observed currents and explains the conduction mechanism in polyethylene. The model involves the distribution, concentration and the potential field of the hopping sites, as well as the injection of electrons into the polymer and the build-up of a space charge. These conditions yield a self-consistent model-system for the calculation of conduction currents.