Investigation of layers' properties using brush discharge: Mobility of charge carriers in the layer is zero

The time dependence of charging current and of the potential difference between the needle and the substrate is not monotonic: at first the current increases, then it begins to decrease, and the potential difference at first decreases, then it begins to increase. The initial parts of those dependences can be explained by the “breakdown” of the capacitor formed by the needle and the substrate, and the subsequent time dependence is determined by the increase of the insulating layer potential due to accumulation of charge on it.