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Microstructural Control of Zinc Oxide Varistor Ceramics

  • Chapter
Ceramic Microstructures

Abstract

It has been nearly a quarter of a century since Matsuoka (1) reported the non-ohmic properties of ZnO ceramics. During that period ZnO-based ceramics with their highly nonlinear current-voltage characteristics have accrued more than half of the varistor market in numbers and nearly 80% of the market in value as reported by Okinaka and Hata (2). These electronic devices, often referred to as MOV’s, or metal oxide varistors, find applications as surge absorbers, surge arrestors and in micromotors. Although these ZnO-based devices probably have their single largest volume usage in high-voltage power distribution systems, it is becoming increasingly common to protect household applicances and personal computers with varistor devices. It is likely that most readers of this article utilize such a device to protect their personal computers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Metallurgical and Materials Enginering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    Richard C. Bradt

  2. Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    Susan L. Burkett

Authors
  1. Richard C. Bradt
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  2. Susan L. Burkett
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA

    Antoni P. Tomsia

  2. University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

    Andreas M. Glaeser

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Bradt, R.C., Burkett, S.L. (1998). Microstructural Control of Zinc Oxide Varistor Ceramics. In: Tomsia, A.P., Glaeser, A.M. (eds) Ceramic Microstructures. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5393-9_31

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5393-9_31

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7462-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5393-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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