Key role of oxygen at zinc oxide varistor grain boundaries
- 30 July 1990
- journal article
- conference paper
- Published by AIP Publishing in Applied Physics Letters
- Vol. 57 (5) , 446-448
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.103661
Abstract
The electrical transport properties of zinc oxide varistors are correlated with the chemistry of their grain boundaries. An adsorbed layer of bismuth, about 5 Å thick, is necessary to create potential barriers at the grain boundaries. The height of these potential barriers depends sensitively on the excess amount of oxygen (∼1 monolayer) present at the interfaces between grains. This oxygen enrichment is influenced by thermal processing and by electrical degradation.Keywords
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