Aging characteristics of ZnO–PrO1.83-based semiconducting varistors for surge protection reliability

• ZnO–PrO1.83-based materials with simple microstructure.
• ZnO–PrO1.83-based materials with excellent varistor properties.
• Co/Cr/Er co-doped ZnO–PrO1.83-based varistors with excellent surge withstanding capability.

This research focuses on the aging characteristics of Er2O3-doped ZnO–PrO1.83-based varistors for surge protection reliability. The MOV (metal oxide varistor) doped with 2.0 mol% exhibited the best clamp characteristics, in which the clamp voltage ratio was in the range of K = 1.56–1.84 for surge current of 5–50 A and K = 1.92–3.13 for surge currents of 400–1800 A. On considering surge absorption capability, the MOV doped with 0.5 mol% Er2O3 exhibited a very strong electrical stability, with %ΔE1mA/cm2ΔE1mA/cm2 and %Δα1 less than 5% for the multi-surge current of 2100 A, whereas the MOV doped with 2.0 mol% Er2O3 was destroyed at the same condition.

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