Oxidation of Ni electrode in BaTiO3 based multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC)

High temperature heat treatment of internal Ni electrode and BaTiO3 dielectric layers is one of the important steps in the sintering process of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). In this study microstructural, analysis of partially oxidized Ni electrode in dielectric layers was conducted Sub-micrometric NiO scales. were found along the interface of Ni/BaTiO3. In addition, the capacitance, dielectric loss, and isolation resistances of the samples after post-treatment in N-2 atmosphere at 1000 degrees C for 0-8 h were analyzed A detailed analysis on the NiO and the discussion on the formation mechanism of NiO are presented in this paper. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.