Electrical properties and stability of Tb-doped zinc oxide-based nonlinear resistors

The microstructure, electric field-current density (E-J), capacitance-voltage (C-V), and stability characteristics of Zn-Pr-Co-Cr-Tb oxide-based nonlinear resistors were investigated for different Tb₄O₇ amounts. It increased in the range of 8.9-42.0 in the nonlinear coefficient and in the range of 1026-6514 V/cm in the breakdown field with increasing Tb₄O₇ amount. As Tb₄O₇ amount increased, the donor density decreased in the range of 1.23×10¹⁸-0.70×10¹⁸/cm³, whereas the barrier height at grain boundaries increased in the range of 0.73-0.93 eV. A good stability was obtained in the range of 0.25-0.5 mol% in Tb₄O₇ amount.