Grain boundaries in zinc oxide-based varistor ceramics

Abstract

Since the development of the zinc oxide-based varistor with highly nonlinear current-voltage characteristics and high energy absorption capabilities [1], the electro-physical behavior of non-ohmic ZnO varistors has been studied and related to the microstructure of the material, the conduction and degradation mechanisms, the dielectric properties, and the high pressure memory. An extensive research effort has been aimed at characterizing ZnO/ZnO grain boundary regions in order to explain the origin of the nonlinear current/voltage characteristics of these materials [2-4]. A typical ZnO-varistor material contains small concentrations of several metal oxides (e.g., Bi2O3, CoO, MnO, Sb2O3, and Cr2O3). Co and Mn are contained within the ZnO grains, while the other “impurities are present as several polymorphic forms of Bi2O3, the spinel, Zn7Sb2O12, and the pyrochlore Zn2Bi3Sb3O14, are present as intergranular phases [1,5-7]. The breakdown voltage depends on the number of grain boundaries between the electrodes of the ZnO varistor device [8]. Therefore, the breakdown voltage is influenced by the presence and form of these intergranular phases, and the size, shape and distribution of the ZnO grains. In ZnO-Bi2O3-MnO-TiO2-based varistor materials, the morphology of the ZnO grains is strongly influenced by their tendency to grow preferentially along the directions perpendicular to the prism planes [9] (i.e., the basal plane becomes a common grain boundary facet plane). The aim of the present study is to advance the understanding of the role of the special grain boundaries which are found in air-quenched Zn0-Bi2O3-MnO-TiO2-based varistor materials.