Non-reducible BaTiO3-based dielectric ceramics for Ni-MLCC synthesized by soft chemical method

In order to meet the demand on the miniaturization and manufacturing cost reduction of multilayer ceramic capacitors, a nano-BaTiO3-based non-reducible dielectric material through a soft chemical route has been developed. The particle size was decreased down to the level of 30 nm and the dielectric medium could be co-fired with Ni-electrodes under a N2 + H2 reducing atmosphere. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and volume shrinkage have been employed to detect the sintering behavior and microstructure evolution including grain growth, pore formation and body densification. After a sintering process at 1200 °C for 2 h, the dielectric constant was 8800, the dissipation factor was less than 2%, the insulation resistance was about 1012–1013 Ω cm, and the temperature coefficients of capacitance were less than 22% and −82% at −30 °C and 85 °C, respectively. The material is anticipated to be used for the Ni-multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) with thin dielectric layers with a Y5V specification in the Electron Industries Association standard.