Fast soliton-like charge pulses in insulating polymers

A previously unknown mode of conduction is identified in insulating polymers at moderate fields (40-50 MV/m). This takes the form of coherent charged pulses with a mobility (∼10 −10 m 2 V −1 s −1 ) several orders of magnitude larger than that traditionally associated with independent charge carriers (∼10 −14 m 2 V −1 s −1 ). It is shown that this phenomenon is consistent with a mechanism in which a charged compression boundary is formed electro-mechanically during injection and thereafter travels as a coherent solitary wave (soliton) through the polymer.