JPS6320363B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to voltage nonlinear resistance ceramics, and more particularly to voltage nonlinear resistance ceramics containing zinc oxide (ZnO) as a main component and used as overvoltage protection elements. Conventionally, silicon carbide (SiC) and
Varistors whose main components are selenium (Se), silicon (Si), or ZnO are used. Among them, varistors whose main component is ZnO generally have a low limiting voltage.
Because it has characteristics such as a large voltage non-linearity coefficient, it is suitable for overvoltage protection of devices made of devices with low overcurrent resistance such as semiconductor elements, and is therefore an alternative to varistors made of SiC. It has become widely used. In addition, voltage nonlinear resistance porcelain, which is manufactured by firing ZnO as a main component and adding neodymium (Nd) and cobalt (Co) as subcomponents in the form of elements or compounds, has excellent voltage nonlinearity. It is known that there are However, in such a voltage non-linear resistance ceramic, if the operation start voltage is significantly reduced due to a rise in ambient temperature, leakage current increases, and therefore there is a possibility of thermal runaway occurring.
Another drawback was that the limiting voltage was rather high.
Therefore, in practice, in addition to these excellent voltage nonlinearities, it is desirable that the operation start voltage be as stable as possible with respect to the ambient temperature and that the limiting voltage be as low as possible. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a voltage nonlinear resistance ceramic that improves the stability of the operation start voltage with respect to ambient temperature, further reduces the limiting voltage, and has more suitable characteristics. Therefore, the present inventor has added potassium (K) and chromium (Cr) to the conventional voltage nonlinear resistance porcelain, which is made of ZnO as the main component and Nd and Co as subsidiary components. We discovered that by adding this material, it is possible to obtain a voltage nonlinear resistance ceramic that maintains excellent voltage nonlinearity, improves the stability of the operation start voltage with respect to ambient temperature, and reduces the limiting voltage. Completed the invention. According to the present invention, there is provided a voltage non-linear resistance porcelain containing ZnO as a main component and Nd and Co as sub-components, further comprising K and Cr added as sub-components. is provided. According to a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, ZnO is the main component, K and Cr are used as subcomponents in addition to Nd and Co, Nd is 0.1 to 5.0 atomic %, Co is 0.5 to 5 atomic %, and K is 0.05 atomic %. ~0.5 at%, Cr 0.05-0.5 at%
A voltage non-linear resistance porcelain is provided comprising in an amount such that . Here, atomic % means the percentage of the number of atoms of the added metal element relative to the total number of atoms of each component metal element in the raw material composition blended to produce a predetermined voltage nonlinear resistance ceramic. . The voltage nonlinear resistance porcelain according to the present invention is generally
It is produced by firing and sintering a mixture of ZnO and additive metals or compounds at high temperatures in an oxygen-containing atmosphere. Usually, additive components are added in the form of metal oxides, but compounds that can become oxides during the firing process, such as carbonates, hydroxides, fluorides, etc., can also be used, or they can be used in the form of simple elements. It can also be converted into an oxide during the firing process. According to a particularly preferred method, the voltage non-linear resistance porcelain of the present invention is prepared by thoroughly mixing ZnO powder with powder of an additive metal or compound,
Calcinate at ~1000℃ for several hours, thoroughly crush the calcined product, mold it into a predetermined shape, and then heat it in air at ~1200℃.
It is manufactured by firing at a temperature of around 1400℃ for several hours. If the firing temperature is lower than 1200°C, sintering will be insufficient and the properties will be unstable. Furthermore, at temperatures higher than 1400°C, it becomes difficult to obtain a homogeneous sintered body, voltage nonlinearity decreases, and there are difficulties in reproducibility such as controlling characteristics, making it difficult to obtain a product that can be put to practical use. Examples are now presented to further illustrate the invention. Example Nd ₂ O ₃ , Co ₃ O ₄ , K ₂ CO ₃ , Cr ₂ O ₃ powder was added to ZnO powder in an amount corresponding to the predetermined atomic % listed in Table 1 below and thoroughly mixed. After, 500~1000℃
I baked it for several hours. Next, the calcined material was sufficiently crushed and molded into a disc shape with a diameter of 17 mm using a mold.
Sintered porcelain was obtained by firing in air at 1200-1400°C for 1 hour. The porcelain thus obtained is 2mm thick.
A device was made by polishing a sample and baking electrodes on both sides, and its electrical characteristics were measured. As for the electrical characteristics, the element at 25℃
Operation start voltage V _1nA when a current of 1mA flows,
Voltage nonlinear coefficient α at 25℃, V _1nA at 25℃ and
Rate of change between 85℃ △V ₁ /V ₁ and 40A to element
The ratio of the limiting voltage V _40A and V _1nA when a current of The nonlinear coefficient α is obtained by approximating the change in the element current I with respect to the voltage V by the following equation. I=(V/C)〓 Here, C is the voltage per 1 mm of element thickness when the current density is 1 mA/cm ² . Table 1 shows the measurement results of the electrical properties when the blending composition of the porcelain was varied. The blended compositions shown in Table 1 are expressed in atomic % calculated from the ratio of the number of atoms of the added element to the total number of atoms of each component metal element in the blended raw materials.

【table】

[Table] Sample No. 1 shown in Table 1 corresponds to conventional porcelain manufactured by adding only Nd and Co to ZnO.
The temperature change rate ΔV ₁ /V ₁ of V _{1 nA} is -7.5%, and the ratio of the limiting voltage to the operation start voltage V _40A /V _{1 nA} is 2.2. The purpose of the present invention is to achieve good V _1nA stability with respect to temperature and good limiting voltage characteristics, that is, △V ₁ /V ₁ is −
Samples with a value closer to 0 than 7.5% and with a V _40A /V _1nA of 2.2 or less are Nos. 3 to 8, 11 to 14, 17 to 20, and 23 to 26 from the table.
It is. Therefore, Nd is 0.1 to 5.0 at%, Co is 0.5
~5.0 atomic%, K 0.05~0.5 atomic%, Cr 0.05~
It can be seen that it is necessary to add within the range of 0.5 at%. As mentioned above, as is clear from Table 1, by adding K and Cr to Nd and Co as subcomponents,
The temperature characteristics and limiting voltage characteristics of V _1nA are greatly improved. This is achieved only when Nd, Co, K, and Cr coexist in ZnO. When these subcomponents are added alone, voltage nonlinearity is extremely poor.
Only almost ohmic characteristics can be obtained. Also,
If only K or Cr is added in addition to Nd and Co, the resistance increases or decreases and voltage nonlinearity is lost, making it impossible to put it to practical use as a varistor. As mentioned above, the voltage nonlinear resistance ceramic of the present invention maintains good voltage nonlinearity and has a V _1nA
The temperature characteristics and limiting voltage characteristics of the material are greatly improved, and therefore, it can be used extremely effectively as a varistor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The main component is zinc oxide, and the subcomponents are neodymium, cobalt, potassium, and chromium in the form of elements or compounds. Neodymium is 0.1 to 5.0 at%, cobalt is 0.5 to 5.0 at%, and potassium. is 0.05 to 0.5 atomic%, chromium is 0.05
Voltage nonlinear resistance porcelain characterized by being made by adding and firing in the range of ~0.5 at%.