Developing anti-metallic contamination polyester membranes with nuclear pore technique

Surface contamination by conducting materials, metals in particular, is one of the important causes for electric breakdown of insulators under high voltage. In order to explore the feasibility of nuclear track modification for anti-metallic contamination, polyester membranes with different thickness were bombarded by (32)S ions from the HI-13 tandem accelerator of CIAE. The tracks formed on the surface of the membranes were etched under different conditions. The insulating capability of the treated membranes was evaluated by using silver coatings to simulate the surface metallic contamination. The results indicated insulators with the surface modified by nuclear pore technique have an improved capability of anti-contamination of metals. The sample with 144 nm Ag coating is not breakdown under 1000 V.