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 (similar to 10(-10) m(2)V(-1)s(-1)) several orders of magnitude larger than that traditionally associated with independent charge carriers (similar to 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.