US3811103A

US3811103A - Voltage-nonlinear resistors

Info

Publication number: US3811103A
Application number: US00398779A
Authority: US
Inventors: M Matsuoka; Y Kobayashi; G Itakura; T Masuyama
Original assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd
Current assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
Priority date: 1972-09-20
Filing date: 1973-09-19
Publication date: 1974-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 1991-05-14
Also published as: NL182181C; CA977872A; FR2200594A1; DE2342172A1; IT994283B; DE2342172B2; FR2200594B1; DE2342172C3; GB1421387A; NL7311582A

Abstract

The invention relates to voltage-nonlinear resistors having nonohmic resistance due to the bulk thereof, and more particularly to varistors which are suitable for use as elements of lightning arresters, comprising zinc oxide, bismuth oxide, antimony oxide and nickel fluoride.

Description

United states P Mat suoka et al;

ate nt 1 1' VOLTAGE-NONLINEAR RESISTORS Inventors:

Assignee:

I Filed:

Michio Matsuoka; Yoshikazu Kobayashi; Gen Itakura; Takeshi Masuyama, all of Osaka, Japan Ltd., Osaka, Japan Sept. 19, 1973 Appl. No.: 398,779

Foreign Application'l riority Data Matsu shita Electric Industrial (10.,

ag L44 43441 -43 43 1 14 1 May 14, 1974 51 1m. (:1. ..n01 7/10 [58] Field of Search 338/20, 21; 25.2/518 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS I 3,658,725 4/1972 Masuyama et al 252/5l8 3,687,871 8/1972 Masuyama et al 252/5l8 Primary Examiner-C. L. Albritton Attorney, Agent, or Firm Wender0th, Lind & Ponack.

[5 7'] ABSTRACT The invention. relates to voltage-nonlinear resistors having non-ohmic resistance due to the bulk thereof, and more particularly tovaristors which are suitable for use as elements of lightning arresters, comprising zinc oxide, bismuth oxide, antimony oxide andnickel fluoride.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Masuyama et al 338/20 PATENTEBHAY 14 m VOLTAGE-NONLINEAR RESISTORS Various voltage-nonlinear resistors such as silicon carbide varistors, selenium rectifiers and germanium or silicon p-n junction diodes have been widely used for stabilization of voltage of electrical circuits or suppression of abnormally high surge induced in electrical circuits. The electrical characteristics of such a nonlinear resistor are expressed by the relation:

I (V/C)" v 1. where V is the voltage across the resistor,,l isthe current flowingthrough the resistor, C is a constant corresponding to the voltage at a given current and exponent n isa numerical value greater than 1. The .value of n is calculated by. the following equation:

g1o( 2/ 1)l/[ g1o( a J] 2. where V and V are the voltages at given currents I, and 1 respectively. The desired value of C depends upon the kind of application to which the resistor is to be put. It is ordinarily desirable that the value of n be as large as possible since this exponent determines the extent to which the resistors depart from ohmic characteristics. Conveniently the, ri-value defined by I I V and V, as shown in equation (2) is expressed by m for distinguishing it from the n-value calculated by other currentsor voltages.

Nonlinear resistors comprising sintered bodies of zinc oxide with. or without additives and non-ohmic electrode appliedthereto, have already been disclosed as seen in us. Pat. Nos. 3,496,512, 3,570,002 and 3,503,029. The nonlinearity of such varistors is attributed to the interface between thesintered body of zinc oxide with or without additives and the silver paint electrode and is controlled mainly by changing the compositions of said sintered body and silver paint electrode."l"-herefore, it is not easy to control the C- value over a wide rangeafter the sintered body is prepared. Similarly, in varistors comprising germanium or silicon p-n junctiondiodes, it is difficult to control the C-value over a wide range because the nonlinearity of these varistors is not attributed to the bulk but to the p-n junction. In addition, it is almost impossible for the varistors and germanium or silicon diode varistors to obtain the combination of C-value higher than 100 volts, n-value higher than and high surge resistance tolerable for a surge of more than 100A.

On the other hand, thesilicon carbide. varistors have nonlinearity due to the contact between the individual grains of silicon carbide bonded together by a ceramic binding material, i.e. to the bulk, and the C-value is controlled by changing dimensionin the direction in which the current flows through the varistors. In addition, the silicon carbide varistors have high surge resistancewhich is suitable for'characteristic elements of lightning arresters. The characteristic elements are used usually by connecting in series with discharging gaps and determine the level of the discharging voltage and the follow current. The silicon carbide varistors, however, have a relatively low n-value ranging from 3 to 7 which results in poor suppression of lightning surge or increase in the follow current. Another defect of the arrester including the discharging. gaps as its components is not to respond instantaneously to surge voltage having very short rise time, suchas below I gs ltls desirablefor the arrester to suppress the lightning surge and the follow current to as low a level as possible and to respond to surge voltage instantaneously.

i There have been known, on the other hand, voltagenonlinear resistors of bulk type comprising a sintered body of zinc oxide-with additives comprising bismuth oxide and antimony oxide and/or cobalt oxide, as seen in U. S. Pat. No. 3,663,458. These zinc oxide varistors of bulk type are controllable in a Cvalue by changing the distance between electrodes and have an excellent nonlinear property with an n-value more than 10 in a region of current below than IOA/cr'n. Fora current more than l0A/cm however, the n-value goes down to a value below than 10. The power dissipation for surge energy shows a relatively low value compared .withthat of the conventional silicon carbide arrester,

so that the change rate of C-value exceeds 20percent attsttwo;srandarqlishms sssrsss of 4 331 Wave formin a peak current of l,50 0A]cm are applied to said zinc oxide varistor of the bulk type. There is known'anotherzinc oxide varistor of bulk type which contains as an additive nickel fluoride as seen in U. S. Pat. No. 3,687,871. This varistor shows an excellent nonlinear property, but an essentially weak point as an arrester element is its weakness with respect to surge pulses. The nonlinear property of the varistor deteriorates easily even for IOOA/cm of surge pulse.

An object of the present invention is to provide a voltage-nonlinear resistor having nonlinearity due to the bulk thereof and being characterized by a-high nvalue even in a range of current more than lOA/cm.

Another object of the present invention is toprovide a voltage-nonlinear resistor having high power dissipation for surge energy.

. Another object of the present invention is to provide an arrester characterized by high suppression for lightning surges and low followcurrent.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following description taken together with the accompanying drawing in which FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view through a voltage-nonlinear resistor in accordance with the invention and FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 partial cross-sectional views through an arrester in accordance with the invention.

Before proceeding with a detailed description of the voltage-nonlinear resistorscontemplated by the invention, their construction will be described with reference to FIG. 1 wherein reference character 10 designates, as a whole, a voltage-nonlinear resistor compri sing,'as its active element, a sintered body having a pair of electrodes and 3 applied to opposite surfaces thereof.

, Said sintered body 1 is prepared in a manner hereinaf-v ter set forth. Wireleads Sand 6 are attached conductively to the electrodes 2 and 3, respectively, by a connection means 4 such as solder or the like. 7

A voltage-nonlinear resistor according to the invention comprises a sintered body of a composition comprising, as an additive, 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of bismuth oxide (Bi O 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of antimony oxide Sb-,; O and 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of nickel fluoride (NiFQ), and the remainder of zinc oxide (ZnO) as a main constituent, and electrodes applied to opposite surfaces of said sintered body. Such a voltagenonlinear resistor has non-ohmic resistance due to the bulk itself. Therefore, its C-value can be changed without impairing the n-value by changing the distance be- 1 The higher n-value in a region of current more than IOA/cm can be obtained when said sintered body further includes one member selected from the group consisting of 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide (C) and 0.1 to 3.0 'mole percent of manganese oxide According to the present invention, the higher nvalue in a region of current more than IOA/cm and the higher stability for surge pulses can be obtained when said sintered body comprises, as a main constituent, Zinc oxide (ZnO) and, as an additive, 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of bismuth oxide (Bi O 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of antimony oxide (Sb O 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of nickel fluoride (MP 0.] to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide (C00), 0.] to 3.0 mole percent of manganese oxide (MnO) and one member selected from the group consisting of 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of chromium oxide (Cr O 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent oftin oxide (SnO' and 0.1 to 10.0 mole percent of silicon dioxide (SiO According to the present invention, the resistor is remarkably improved in the n-value in a region of current more than IOA/cm and the stability for surge pulse when said sintered body consists essentially of 99.4 to 72 mole percent of zinc oxide (ZnO) and, as an additive, 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of bismuth oxide (Bi O 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of antimony oxide (Sb O 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of nickel fluoride (NiF- 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide (CoO), 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of manganese oxide (MnO), 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of chromium oxide (Cr O and 0.1 to 10.0 mole percent of silicon dioxide (SiO According to the present invention, when at least one voltage-nonlinear resistor consisting essentially ofa sintered body of a composition comprising as a main constituent, zinc oxide and, as an additive, 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of bismuth oxide Eno 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of antimony oxide (Sb O and 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of nickel fluoride (NiF and electrodes applied to opposite surfaces of said sintered body, is applied to an arrester as a characteristic element, the resultant arrester is lowered in the follow current and improved in the suppression and power dissipation for lightning surges.

According to the present invention, when at least one voltage-nonlinear resistor consisting essentially of a sintered body of 99.4 to 72.0 mole percent of zinc oxide (ZnO), 0.1 to 3.0 mole I percent of bismuth oxide (Bi O 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of antimony oxide (Sb O 0.-l to 3.0 mole percent of nickel fluoride (NiF 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide (C00),

0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of manganese oxide (MnO),

0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of chromium oxide (Cr O and 0.1 to l0.0,mole percent of silicon dioxide (SiO and electrodes applied to opposite surfaces of said sintered body, is applied as a characteristic element to an arrester, the resultant arrester is further lowered in the follow current and is further improved in the suppression and power dissipation for lightning surge.

The sintered body 1 can be prepared by a per se well known ceramic technique. The starting materials in the compositions in the foregoing description are mixed in a wet mill so as to produce homogeneous mixtures. The

mixtures are dried and pressed in a mold into desired shapes at a pressure from 50 l(g./cm to 500 Kg./cm The pressed bodies are sintered in air at I,000 to 1,450C for l to 10 hours, and then furnacecooled to room temperature (about 15C to about 30C). The mixtures can be preliminarily calcined at 700 to 1,000C and pulverized for easy fabrication in the subsequent pressing step. The mixture to be pressed can be admixed with a suitable binder such as water, polyvinyl alcohol, etc. It is advantageous that the sintered body be lapped at the opposite surfaces by abrasive powder such as silicon carbide in a particle size of 50a in mean diameter to 10].. in mean diameter. The sintered bodies are provided, at the opposite surfaces thereof, with electrodes by any available and suitable method, such as silver painting, vacuum evaporation or flame spraying of a metal such as Al, Zn, Sn, etc.

The voltage-nonlinear properties are not practically affected by the kinds of electrodes used, but are affected by the thickness of the sintered bodies. Particularly, the C-value varies in proportion to the thickness of the sintered bodies, while the n-value is almost independent of the thickness. This surely means that the voltage-nonlinear property is due to the bulk itself, but not to the electrodes.

Lead wires can be attached to the electrodes in a per se conventional manner by using conventional solder. It is convenient to employ a conductive adhesive comprising silver powder and resin in an organic solvent in order to connect the lead wires to the electrodes. Voltage-nonlinear resistors according to this invention have a high stability to temperature and for the surge test, which is carried out by applying lightning surge determined by the .IEC (Japanese Electrotechnical Committee)-l56 Standard. The n-value and-C-value do not change remarkably after heating cycles and surge test. It is advantageous for achievement of a high stability to humidity and high surge that the resultant voltagenonlinear resistors are embedded in a humidity proof resin such as epoxy resin and phenol resin in a per se well known manner.

When voltage-nonlinear resistors according to this invention are used as a characteristic element, the resultant arrester is improved remarkably in the follow current and the suppression property for lightning surge. FIG. 2 is the cross-sectional view of an arrester wherein reference character 20 designates, as a whole, an arrester comprising one or more voltage-nonlinear resistors 11 ac'cordingto this invention as a characteristic element are connected in series with one or more discharging gaps'12, spring 13 and

line terminals

14 and 15. Said arrester elements are enveloped into wetprocess porcelain 16. Said arrester is kept to a level below 'luA in follow current and to a level higher than 2,000A/cm in the surge dissipation. FIG. 3 is the crosssectional view of another arrester wherein reference character 30 designates, as a whole, an arrester comprising at least one voltage-nonlinear resistor according to this invention. In the embodiment shown FIG. 3, reference characters identical to those of FIG. 2 have been employed to designate like elements. The arrester of FIG. 3 is characterized, in its construction, to be without discharging gap and, in its electrical properties as having a response time shorter than 0.1ps for high surges having very sharp rise, in addition to its excellent properties in follow current and surge dissipation. Presently preferred illustrative embodiments of the inven- EXAMPLE 2 tion are as follows. l Zmc oxide incorporated with bismuth oxide, antimony oxide, andnickel fluoride in the c T able 2 is fabricated into the volta tors by the same process as that thickness is 20mm. The resulting. electrical are shown in Table 2, in which the values of m and n, are the n-values'defined between 0. lmA and l between 100 and 1,000A, respectively. The im test is carried out by applying two im l0,000A. It can be easily understood addition of bismuth oxide, antimony oxide, and nickel fluoride as additives show the high n-value and small change rates.

5 m m m m 1 w u i 1 mauh u PiP 2 0 r. mm 5" i m C a w EXAMPLE 1 A starting material composed of 98.0 mole of zinc oxide, 0.5 mole-percent of bismuth ox mole percent of antimony oxide of nickel fluoride is mixed in a The mixture is dried and pressed in a mold into discs of 40mm in diameter and 25mm in thickness at a pressure of 250Kg/cm I I v Change rates in after test (percent) 100- 1,000 a. AC A121 A714 TABLE 2 Electrical properties of resultant resistor Additives (mol. m

percent) 0 (atl 0.1-1 51,20 NiFz ma.) ma.

BizOa The pressed bodies are sintered in air at the condition shown in Table l, and then furnace-cooled to room temperature.- The sintered body is lapped at the opposite surfaces thereof into the thickness shown in Table l by silicon carbide abrasive in particle size of 30p, in means diameter- The opposite surfaces of the sintered body are provided with a spray metallized film ofaluminum in a per se well known technique.

The electric characteristics the resultant sintered body are shown in Table l, which shows the C-value varies approximately in proportion to the thickness of the sintered body while the n-value is essentiallyindependent of the thickness. It will be readily realized that the voltage-nonlinear property of the sintered body is 25 attributed to the sintered body itself.

EXAMPLE 3 Zinc oxide and additives of Table 3 are fabricated into the voltage-nonlinear resistors by the same process as that of Example 1. The electrical properties of the resulting resistors. are shown in Table 3 The change TABLE 1 rates of C and n values after the impulse test are carried out by same method as that of Example 2- are also shown in Table 3. It will be readily realized that the further addition of cobalt oxide or manganese oxide results in a higher n-value and smaller change rates than 2 e l. m a X E f o e s 0 h t. 0 a dv mm mm r .1. m an nmHHHHmmmmHHHw -D555 1 t t 0001 t 111 n n v t ,CCCC I v i Q WW O OCCCT C0000 a t 00003 0 0W 222211110m0 lill 0.00] A n m334344546667 0 A m 105 00 000 ph -0200590002 0 5 5840370500 73 732 5 s mMiO N50 N50 (l\ 5( 5( 5 i t t t .m .m m .m

Change rates after test (percent) 1,000 a. AC Am TABLE 3 Electrical properties of Additives (moi. percent) resultant resistor t 1 0.1-1 ShzOa NiFz C00 MnO 1 ms.) ma.

wmeemamwmwmmmeam an mmmm mmwmmmm 7 11111111 11 11111 0.111000111000105 3 0 0 0 on&0 0 0 a33 0 &0

1 1101101100100100511011011000001005 0 0 3 0 03 0 0 &3 0& 3 0 Qw&0 00&00300331330330 555055050500500002055055050 00050000 0 .00 .0 .0 n w i mabamaamaaarn EXAMPLE 4 EXAMPLE 5 The voltage-nonlinear resistors according to Example 2, 3 and 4 are employed in the arrester construction s shgwn 01.5 B bust sysansskn of 3 pieces of resistor and l discharging gap. The C-value oFsaid total pieces of voltage-nonlinear resistor is about 7,000V. The impulse tests are carried out by applying two impulses -of 4 10p.s, 1,500A/cm superposed on AC 3000V. The follow current of the arrester shows a value lower than 1 4A as shown in Table 6 and the change rates of electrical properties after the test show same results asthe impulse test of Example 2, 3 and 4.

TABLE 4 Electrical properties of Change rates after test Additives (moi. percent) resultant resistor (percent) C 0.1-1 100- SD20: NiFz C M110 SnOz CnO; 810; (at 1 ma.) ma. 1,000 a. AC Am Am 0. 0. 1 0. 1 0.1 0. 1 1, 920 35 13 -10 -10 -5.1 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5 2,000 37 19 -10 -33 -35 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 3.0 2,250 37 10 -11 -3.1 -00 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.1 2,300 37 18 -11 -32 -3.5 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 2,500 40 23 -3.0 -51 -24 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 3.0 2,540 37 10 -02 -7.4 -5.1 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 0.1 3,100 35 19 -10 -32 -52 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 0.5 3,250 35 1s -19.7 -33 -39 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3,550 34 18 -04 -9.0 -53 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 .05 2,200 33 13 -10 -37 -5.5 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 .5 2,300 33 19 -03 -34 -4.0 0.05 0.1 0,1 0.1 .0 2,520 40 -11 -7.5 .-4.2 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 .05 2,500 42 10 -5.0 -3.7 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 3,000 45 23 -7.0 -5.2 -23 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 3.0 3,150 19 -10 -7.0 -3.7 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 0. 05 3,300 42 20 -9.2 -7.5 -43 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 0.5 4,050 41 20 -10 -07 -50 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 4, 320 33 13 -10 -s. s -5. a 0. 05- 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 2, 250 33 19 0. 3 -11. 0 -11. 2 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5 2,500 40 20 0.0 3.7 -53 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 10.0 4,500 41 20 -s.3 -31 -5.o 1. 0 0. 5 0. 5 0. 5 0.1 2, 550 43 21 -12. 7 -7. 3 -4. 4 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 3,300 43 23 -7.0 -5.2 -23 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 10.0 5,300 43 21 -02 -7.7 -5.4 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 0.1 3,500 39 20 -00 -7.0 -5.2 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 0.5 4,250 41 20 -32 -7.s -4.7 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 10.0 7,000 30 10 -33 -35 -5. 1 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 .05 0.1 2,750 42 20 -37 -57 -30 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 .05 0.5 3,000 43 21 -7.7 -5.7 -2.7 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 .05 10.0 5,400 43 21 -s.0 -7.0 -4. 1 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.1 3,200 43 22 -7.3 -52 -45 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 4,000 25 -50 -4.7 -2.2 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 10.0 7,500 47 21 -7.4 -5.0 -4.1 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 0.1 4,200 41 22 83 -33 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 0.5 5,200 43 21 -7.2 -s.2 -32 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 10.0 5,300 41 20 -35- -7.5 -4.4

EXAMPLE 5 TABLE 6 45 The resistorsof Example 2, 3 and 4 are tested in ac- Sample No. Follow-current cordance with a method widely used for electronic Example 2 v below "um um components parts. The heating cycle test is carried out Example 3 below than 0.5 /4 by repeating 5 times the cycle in WhlCh said reslstors Example-4 balm" than O-ULA are kept at C ambient temperature for 30 minutes, 50

cooled rapidly to 20C and then kept at such temperature for 30 minutes. The humidity 'test is carried out at 40C and percent relativehumidity for 1,000 hrs. Table 5 shows the average change rates of C-value and n-value .of resistors after heating cycle test and humidity test. It is easily understood that each sample has a small change rate. 4

TABLE 5 EXAMPLE 7 The voltage-nonlinear resistors according to Example 2, 3 and 4 are employed in the arrester construction ample 6. The follow current shows a value lower than l/IAEEEHGWn in Table Find the change rates ofelectrical properties after testing show same the results as i that of. the impulse test in Example 2, 3 and 4. Another ing the value of 0.-l;zs in-rise time. The risetime of 7 current flowing through said arrester is lower than 0.05us.

What is claimed is:

l. A voltage-nonlinear resistor consisting essentially of a sintered body of a composition comprising as a main constituent, zinc oxide (ZnO) and, as an additive, 0.! to 3.0 mole percent of bismuth oxide (850;), 0.05 to 30 mole percentof antimony oxide (Sb O and 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of nickel fluoride (MB), and electrodes applied to opposite surfaces of said sintered body.

2. A voltage-nonlinear resistor defined by claim 1, wherein said sintered body further includes one member selected from the group consisting of 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide (C00) and 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of manganese oxide (MnO).

3. A voltage-nonlinear resistor defined by claim 1, wherein said sintered body further includes 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide (CoO), 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of manganese oxide (M'nO) and one member selected from the group to 3.0 mole percent of chromium oxide (C150 01 to 3.0 mole percent of tin oxide (SnO and 0.1 to 10.0 mole percent of silicon dioxide (SiO 4. A voltage-nonlinear resistor defined by claim 1, wherein said sintered body consisting essentially of 99.4 to 72.0 mole percent of zinc oxide (ZnO) 0.1 to

3.0 mole percent of bismuth oxide (Bi O 0.05 to 3.0

mole percent of antimony 0xidev(Sb O; 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of nickel fluoride (MB), 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide C00), 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of manganese oxide (MnO), 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent ment.

Claims

2. A voltage-nonlinear resistor defined by claim 1, wherein said sintered body further includes one member selected from the group consisting of 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide (CoO) and 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of manganese oxide (MnO).
3. A voltage-nonlinear resistor defined by claim 1, wherein said sintered body further includes 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide (CoO), 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of manganese oxide (MnO) and one member selected from the group consisting of 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of chromium oxide (Cr2O3), 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of tin oxide (SnO2) and 0.1 to 10.0 mole percent of silicon dioxide (SiO2).
4. A voltage-nonlinear resistor defined by claim 1, wherein said sintered body consisting essentially of 99.4 to 72.0 mole percent of zinc oxide (ZnO) 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of bismuth oxide (Bi2O3), 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of antimony oxide (Sb2O3), 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of nickel fluoride (NiF2), 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of cobalt oxide (CoO), 0.1 to 3.0 mole percent of manganese oxide (MnO), 0.05 to 3.0 mole percent of chromium oxide (Cr2O3) and 0.1 to 10.0 mole percent of silicon dioxide (SiO2).
5. An arrester comprising at least one voltage-nonlinear resistor of claim 1 as a characteristic element.
6. An arrester comprising at least one voltage-nonlinear resistor of claim 4 as a characteristic element.