Electrical Characteristics of (BaSr)TiO3-based PTCR Devices under the Electric Field

Semiconducting (Ba.Sr)TiO$_3$ceramic device, which shows the PTCR effect, has been usually used as a current limiter. In this case, the device should endure the condition under the high electric field. In this study, the dynamic electrical properties of the PTCR device under high voltage has been evaluated. Two different formulated powders were used and the sintered bodies exhibited the different grain size and porosity. The wide range of characterization such as complex impedance spectroscopy, microstructure, I-V characteristics and voltage dependence of resistivity of the samples were performed. The PTCR effect of the specimen containing coarse grains was very sensitively dependent on the AC electric field, showing that it was inversely pro-portional to the grain boundary potential barrier. The withstanding voltage was proportional to the potential barrier of grain boundary.