Improvement of ZnO Element Performance by Reducing Spinel Particles

The performance of zinc-oxide (ZnO) elements is strongly dependent on the properties of the boundaries between ZnO grains, which are greatly affected by the formation of spinel particles between ZnO grains during the sintering process. The authors studied the effects of reducing spinel particles on the performance of elements and found that the characteristics of the spinel-reduced elements were improved compared with that of normal elements (e.g., superior voltage-current characteristics, smaller micropores, and larger capacitance). It was also found that the sintering temperature of the spinel-reduced elements could be decreased by more than 100^degC than that of normal elements.