Ceramics As Electrical Materials

Abstract

There are a large number of applications for ceramic materials where electrical conduction properties are important. These materials exhibit a wide range of conductivities from highly insulating to highly conducting. Other electrical properties, associated with magnetic and dielectric polarization, superconduction, and environmental sensing functions, may also be present. Ceramic properties are developed through composition selection combined with highly specific firing or heat treatment processes, where the base compositions and dopants interact to give complex materials having engineered micro and defect structures. Many of the developed ceramics are an integral part of modern microcircuit technology, in which advantage is taken not only of the high resistivity and range of dielectric behavior, but of the semiconducting and low resistivity properties. The development of electronic components, such as highly complex sensors and actuators, superconductors, multilayer and miniaturized microelectronic devices, and insulation applications for high frequency, temperature, voltage, and stressed components, have been made possible through the use of these ceramics. The conduction phenomena and mechanisms that control electrical behavior in each type of material is discussed.