Effects of cobalt doping on the electrical characteristics of Al-doped ZnO varistors

Abstract The effects of cobalt additive on the electrical characteristics of the Al-doped ZnO varistors are studied in this paper. The current–voltage characteristics of the varistor samples have been investigated in a range from small to large current. With the amount of the doped cobalt increased, the leakage currents of the Al-doped ZnO varistors are inhibited, and their nonlinear coefficients increase remarkably as well. In addition, their breakdown electric fields increase in a small extent and their residual voltage ratios change slightly. Furthermore, the donor densities and the barrier heights of samples decrease with the cobalt content increased. The XRD patterns show that the Bi-rich phase and the willemite phase vary obviously in the varistor samples with various content of cobalt additive.