PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECTS IN POLY(ETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE) AND POLYETHYLENE

Photocurrents induced by ultraviolet illumination of polyethylene terephthalate (Mylar) and PE specimens supplied with aluminum electrodes in a sandwich configuration have been studied in the wavelength range 380-180 nm. In both materials, a fast and a slow transient are present. Measurements on PE show that the magnitude of the response is linearly dependent on the light intensity and is essentially thickness independent. This behavior leads to difficulties in interpretation in terms of known condition processes. In Mylar it is shown that hole injection from the positive electrode into the polymer is responsible for the observed currents, and evidence to associate a similar process with the effects in PE is presented.