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Effect of Cr additions on the electrical properties of Ni–BaTiO3 ultra-thin multilayer capacitors

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Abstract

Multilayer ceramic capacitors based on BaTiO3 dielectric compositions and Ni inner electrodes have complex interfacial reactions that impact the continuity of the inner electrode microstructure. Previously we demonstrated that through the addition of Cr to Ni, a significant improvement in the continuity of ultra-thin Ni electrodes in Ni–BaTiO3 multilayer capacitors could be achieved. Here, the effect of the Cr addition to the nickel electrode pastes is studied with regard to the electrical properties. Low-field electrical measurements demonstrate no major differences between Cr doped Ni and undoped Ni. However, high-field measurements show a significant decrease to the total capacitor resistance. Under a critical electrical bias the conductivity significantly increases due to a Fowler–Nordheim tunneling conduction though the interfacial Schottky barrier at the dielectric–electrode interface; the onset voltage of this conduction is much lower than with the undoped nickel. Based on these results, we evaluate criteria for the selection of an appropriate refractory metal in order to improve the Ni electrode continuity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge members of the NSF I/UCRC Center for Dielectric Studies and the Materials Characterization Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation, as part of the Center for Dielectric Studies under Grant No. 0628817.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Dielectric Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Anton V. Polotai, Tae-Hee Jeong, Gai-Ying Yang, Elizabeth C. Dickey & Clive A. Randall

  2. KEMET Electronics Corporation, P.O. Box 5928, Greenville, SC, 29606, USA

    Pascal Pinceloup & Abhijit S. Gurav

Authors
  1. Anton V. Polotai
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  2. Tae-Hee Jeong
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  3. Gai-Ying Yang
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  4. Elizabeth C. Dickey
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  5. Clive A. Randall
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  6. Pascal Pinceloup
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  7. Abhijit S. Gurav
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Correspondence to Anton V. Polotai.

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Polotai, A.V., Jeong, TH., Yang, GY. et al. Effect of Cr additions on the electrical properties of Ni–BaTiO3 ultra-thin multilayer capacitors. J Electroceram 23, 6–12 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10832-008-9496-0

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