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Metal Oxide Varistor: Pure Zinc Oxide at 1350 °C, Bismuth Oxide Paste Fired at 600 °C (Masuyama 1972, Ex. 4)
Ed

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Ed

28. October 2026FI
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Metal Oxide Varistor: Pure Zinc Oxide at 1350 °C, Bismuth Oxide Paste Fired at 600 °C (Masuyama 1972, Ex. 4)

A varistor made the other way round: a disc of pure zinc oxide, sintered, with bismuth oxide fired into its faces from a paste instead of mixed in. Sintered at 1350 °C and fired with the paste at 600 °C, the disc measured a C-value of 13 at 1 mA and a nonlinearity exponent n of 4.2. Masuyama found that firing on the bismuth oxide paste raises n a great deal over mixing it in. Source: T. Masuyama, M. Matsuoka and T. Nishi (Matsushita), US 3,663,458 (1972), Example 4. Unknown: how the aluminium is sprayed on, what the silver paint is, and how strong the epoxy solution of the paste is. The 10 g batch is our arithmetic. Picture: the patent's drawing.
Advanced
2 days

Instructions

1

Press pure zinc oxide at 340 kg/cm²

Press zinc oxide powder at 340 kg/cm². Example 4 gives no disc size; ours: discs 13 mm across and 2.5 mm thick in the mould of Example 1.

Materials for this step:

Zinc Oxide PowderZinc Oxide Powder1 as required

Tools needed:

Balance ScaleBalance Scale
Hydraulic PressHydraulic Press
Disc Pressing DieDisc Pressing Die
Vernier CaliperVernier Caliper
2

Sinter 1 hour at 1350 °C and cool

Heat the pressed disc for 1 hour at 1350 °C, then let it cool to room temperature.

Tools needed:

Muffle FurnaceMuffle Furnace
3

Lap both faces

Lap both faces with silicon carbide abrasive. Example 4 gives no thickness.

Tools needed:

Silicon Carbide GritSilicon Carbide Grit
Vernier CaliperVernier Caliper
4

Coat with bismuth oxide paste and fire at 600 °C

Coat both lapped faces with a paste of 50 % by weight bismuth oxide in a solution of epoxy resin in butyl alcohol, and fire it in air at 600 °C for 30 minutes. The bismuth oxide diffuses into the zinc oxide. Not given: how much paste, or the strength of the epoxy solution.

Materials for this step:

Bismuth OxideBismuth Oxide1 as required

Tools needed:

Epoxy ResinEpoxy Resin
n-Butanoln-Butanol
Muffle FurnaceMuffle Furnace
5

Spray aluminium electrodes and attach leads

Spray a metallised film of aluminium on both faces. Attach a lead wire to each with conductive silver paint, as in Example 1. Unknown: the spraying method and the paint.

Materials for this step:

Aluminium IngotAluminium Ingot1 as required
Silver Conductive PaintSilver Conductive Paint1 as required
Copper WireCopper Wire2 pieces

Tools needed:

Unknown Metal Spraying MethodUnknown Metal Spraying Method
Vernier CaliperVernier Caliper

Materials

5

Tools Required

9

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