Effect of microstructure on reliability of Ca(TiZr)O-3-based multilayer ceramic capacitors

We examined the reliability of Ca(TiZr)O-3 (CTZ)-based Ni-electrode multila yer ceramic capacitors (MLCs) prepared by two different processes with part icular interest in the microstructure. One process was to calcine the mixtu re of CaCO3 and TiO2 to prepare CaTiO3 (CT) powder and the mixture of CaCO3 and ZrO2 to prepare CaZrO3 (CZ) powder, and then mix these calcined powder s and sinter them to synthesize the CTZ-based ceramics. The other was to ca lcine the mixture of CaCO3, TiO2 and ZrO2 powders together to prepare CTZ p owder and then sinter them. These two processes of CTZ ceramic preparation resulted in a different crystallinity and distribution of the elements. We found that these factors influenced the reliability of CTZ-based MLCs.