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High Barrier Effects of (0001)|(0001) Zinc Oxide Bicrystals: Implication for Varistor Ceramics with Inversion Boundaries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2005

Jong-Sook Lee  and
Joachim Maier
Jong-Sook Lee*
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Joachim Maier
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: jong-sook.lee@fkf.mpg.de
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Abstract

Inversion boundaries (IBs) of a head-to-head or (0001)|(0001) (C+|C+) configuration bisect virtually every grain in typical commercial ZnO varistor ceramics. They are most often considered electrically inactive, and the effect on the grain growth behavior has been recently addressed. In this work, various configurations of ZnO bicrystals were prepared using different source crystals and strong barrier effects were observed in some (0001)|(0001) (C−|C−) bicrystals using crystals with higher impurity contents. The crystallographic polarity and impurity effects were systematically examined by doping C+|C+ and C−|C− bicrystals with single and double additives of Mn, Co, Ni, and Bi. Varying degrees of barrier effects including varistor-like behaviors were observed in C−|C− bicrystals depending on dopants, while C+|C+ bicrystals consistently exhibited negligible effects. Because the IBs in ZnO varistor ceramics preferentially expose C− surfaces in the grain boundaries, the superior property of commercial ZnO varistor ceramics is suggested to be assisted by the presence of IBs.

Keywords

Electrical propertiesGrain boundariesSemiconductor
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 20 , Issue 8 , August 2005 , pp. 2101 - 2109
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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