Date of Award

Summer 1967

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

First Advisor

Blumenthal, Robert N.

Abstract

When a potential is applied across a rutile single crystal specimen in the c-direction, transients are observed in the voltage and current. These effects have been observed by a number of investigators at temperatures below 1000°c. 1-4 This behavior has been qualitatively explained to be the effects of electron injection, space charge limited currents, field emission and ionic conductivity; however, no satisfactory description of the relative importance of each of the processes has yet been given. Proposed models, emphasizing the dominant behavior of injected electrons fail to account for many of the effects observed early in this investigation. While most of previous investigations have been conducted using a two probe technique, multi probe specimens have been employed here to study the bulk potential distribution of the specimens during the transients. In this way electrode effects can be separated from bulk behavior, an essential requirement for anything other than qualitative observations. It also leads to a better understanding of the transition field between the ohmic and space charge limited behavior observed by Greener and Whitmore.3 The purpose of this investigation is to obtain information which will contribute to a better understanding of these phenomena. The data are examined in light of the proposed models and a model is presented which best fits the experimental results.

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