Electrical properties of new tin dioxide varistor ceramics at high currents

New dense SnO2-based varistor ceramics with high nonlinear current–voltage characteristics (nonlinearity coefficients are of approximately 50) in a system of SnO2–CoO–Nb2O5–Cr2O3–Y2O3–SrO–MgO are reported. The current–voltage behaviour at high currents is studied by using exponential voltage pulses. The obtained SnO2 varistor ceramics exhibit low grain resistivity values of 0.23–0.64 ohm cm. To date, such values are the lowest known for SnO2 varistors, and are closely approaching the grain resistivity of the ZnO varistor. The current–voltage characteristics of the obtained SnO2-based varistor materials are reproducible in a wide current range from 10−11 to approximately 104 A cm−2. The minimum current density and the minimum electric field necessary to cause the irreversible electrical breakdown are measured. It is established that a decrease in the grain resistivity leads to an increase in the minimum current density necessary for irreversible electrical breakdown to occur.