Varistor Properties and Aging Behavior of ZnO-V 2 O 5 -MnO 2 -Co 3 O 4 -La 2 O 3 Ceramics Modified with Various Additives (Cr, Nb, Dy, Bi)

The effects of additives (Cr, Nb, Dy, and Bi) on microstructure, electrical properties, dielectric characteristics, and aging behavior of $ZnO-V_2O_5-MnO_2-Co_3O_4-La_2O_3$ (ZVMCL) ceramics were systematically investigated. The phase formed in common for all ZVMCL ceramics modified with various additives consisted of ZnO grain as a main phase, and $Zn_3(VO_4)_2$ and $ZnV_2O_4$ as the secondary phases. The sintered density and average grain size were in the range of $5.4-5.54g/cm^3$ and $3.7-5.1{\mu}m$, respectively. The ZVMCL ceramics modified with Cr exhibited the highest breakdown field (6,386 V/cm) and the ZVMCL ceramics modified with Nb exhibited the lowest breakdown field (3,517 V/cm). All additives enhanced the nonlinear coefficient (${\alpha}$), by a small or large margin, in particular, additives such as Bi and Nb noticeably increased the nonlinear coefficient, with ${\alpha}=25.5$ and ${\alpha}=23$, respectively. However, on the whole, all additives did not improve the stability against a DC stress, compared with ZVMCL ceramics.