Metal oxide group thermistor material

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 5246628
  • Patent Number
    5,246,628
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, January 21, 1993
    32 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 21, 1993
    31 years ago
Abstract
Metal oxide group NTC theremistor material made from MnCO.sub.3 +NiO+CuO+Co.sub.3 O.sub.4 +FeO.sub.3 TiO.sub.2 group as a basic composition. The invention is characterized by metal oxide group thermistor material made from MnCO.sub.3 +NiO+ZnO+Co.sub.3 O.sub.4 +Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 +TiO.sub.2 group or MnCO.sub.3 +NiO+CuO+ZnO+Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 +TiO.sub.2 group as a basic composition having respectively composition amounts by weight for each ingredient described in the text. According to the invention, the sintering temperature of the material can be reduced relative to the conventional material, and therefore there is advantage that manufacturing expense of the thermistor can be reduced.
Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a NTC thermistor material which is made using MnCO.sub.3 --NiO--CuO--ZnO--Co.sub.3 O.sub.4 --Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 --TiO.sub.2 as the basic composition.
Generally, a thermistor is a kind of semiconductor which exhibits very great and non-linear resistance variation in response to temperature change, and which is manufactured by mixing oxides of iron, nickel, manganese, molybdenum, and cobalt and then sintering thereof.
The metal oxide group thermistor manufactured using a transition metal oxide is a semiconductor element in which the electric resistance decreased exponentially in response to temperature change. Since there is a great difference in crystal structure and sintering characteristics in accordance with its raw material ingredients or sintering temperature, it exhibits a great difference in standard temperature resistance and resistance variation in response to temperature.
Such metal oxide group thermistors are widely used as a temperature sensing element, temperature compensating and controlling elements, as an essential element of various precision measuring and analyzing instruments including voltage controlling elements.
In conventional metal oxide group thermistor material, the manganese-nickel-cobalt-copper group which is a spinel group and the iron-titanium group which is a hematite group are generally used. In the case of former spinel group thermistor, it exhibits a wide resistance range and great B constant according to its composition, and therefore it is widely used. [Ref.: 1. Thermistors (ed. by E. D. Macklen), Electrochemical Pub., Ayr. Scotland (1979). 2. Semiconducting temperature sensors and their application (e. by H. B. Sachse), John and Wiley, New York (1975). 3. Ceramic Materials for electronics (ed. by R. C. Buchanan), Marcel Dekker, New York (1986)].
However, in making the manganese-nickel-cobalt-copper group thermistor, the price of cobalt oxide is very high, which results in a disadvantage in manufacturing cost. Also when copper oxide is absorbed, it has problem of generation of environmental pollution during manufacturing of the thermistor [Ref.: Hawley's condensed chemical dictionary, 11th edition (ed. by N. L. Sax and R. J. Lewis, Sr.), Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York (1987)].
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a metal oxide group thermistor material in which the higher priced cobalt oxide is replaced by lower priced iron oxide and titanium oxide whereby the manufacturing cost of thermistor material is decreased while copper oxide is replaced by harmless zinc oxide so that problem of environmental pollution upon manufacturing of thermistor material is eliminated, and at the same time liquid phase sintering is induced by eutectic reaction existing in multi-ingredient oxide group whereby the sintering temperature is lowered so that a thermistor having good characteristics can be manufactured with less manufacturing cost.





BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a tertiary system diagram illustrating the composition ratio of metal oxide group thermistor material according to the present invention, and
FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating the relationship of resistance-temperature response with respect to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.





DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The composition of the metal oxide group thermistor material of the present invention is made from a manganese carbonate MnCO.sub.3 +b nickel oxide NiO+c copper oxide CuO+d zinc oxide ZnO+e cobalt oxide CO.sub.3 O.sub.4 +f iron oxide Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 +g titanium oxide TiO.sub.2 as a basic composition, and the composition ratio by weight is as follows:
29.ltoreq.a+b.ltoreq.66
0.ltoreq.c+d.ltoreq.48
0.ltoreq.e+f+g.ltoreq.54
(provided that, a+b+c+d+e+f+g=100).
The composition of the metal oxide group thermistor material of the present invention expressed by a tertiary system diagram is FIG. 1.
The process for manufacturing a NTC thermistor utilizing the metal oxide group thermistor material of the present invention is the oxide mixing method which is widely used.
Hereinafter, the manufacturing process of the thermistor will be described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Firstly, the manganese-nickel-zinc-cobalt-iron-titanium metal oxide combinations shown in table 1, in which 27.86.ltoreq.a.ltoreq.49.52, 6.17.ltoreq.b.ltoreq.10.97, 0.ltoreq.d.ltoreq.48.25, 0.ltoreq.e8.97, 5.08.ltoreq.f.ltoreq.51.14, 0.29.ltoreq.g3.08 (provided that, a+b+d+e+f+g=100), and the manganese-nickel-zinc-copper-cobalt-iron-titanium metal oxide combinations shown in below table 2, in which 21.86.ltoreq.a.ltoreq.53.68, 7.14.ltoreq.b.ltoreq.13.56, 0.44c.ltoreq.50.76, 0.ltoreq.d.ltoreq.35.05, 0.ltoreq.e.ltoreq.30.61, 0.ltoreq.f.ltoreq.38.26, 0.ltoreq.g.ltoreq.7.71 (provided that, a+b+c+d+e+f+g=100), were made. Manganese carbonate, nickel oxide, copper oxide, zinc oxide, cobalt oxide, iron oxide and titanium oxide are respectively weighed accurately up to 10.sup.-4 g and then they are mixed and milled sufficiently together with distilled water within a zirconia ball mill.
As raw material those compounds which form the to oxide through calcination process can also be used, that is, raw material can be a with hydroxide and carbonate and the like.
The sample resulting from the mixing and milling is calcinated at 750.degree. C.-850.degree. C. and then a general binding agent such as PVA aqueous solution is added in small quantity and pressed and formed at pressure of 1 ton/cm.sup.2 and thereafter placed on alumina plate and sintering within an electric furnace at the temperature of 1000.degree. C.-1200.degree. C. for two hours. Upon sintering, in order to volatilize organic substances including binding agent, it is maintained at 600.degree. C. for one hour, and the heating and cooling sped is set at 300.degree. C./hr.
Thereafter, a silver paste is screen printed on both surfaces of the sintered material whereby electrodes are formed, and then it is exposed to 550.degree. C. for ten minutes and stored for 24 hours. Then the electrical characteristics are measured. Measuring of electrical characteristic of the sample is carried out by means of two-terminal method within a silicone oil thermostat maintained at 25.degree. C., and the B constant is calculated by: ##EQU1##
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________Composition and characteristic of manganese-nickel-zinc-cobalt-iron-titanium group metal oxide thermistorComposition and characteristic Resistivity SinteringComposition (wt %) (25.degree. C.) B constant temperatureExamples a b c d e f g (ohm .multidot. cm) (.degree.K.) (.degree.C.)__________________________________________________________________________Example 1 30.61 6.78 0.00 47.02 0.00 14.74 0.85 13862 3493 1150Example 3 36.75 8.14 0.00 48.25 0.00 6.51 0.35 20813 3890 1150Example 4 41.32 9.15 0.00 39.78 0.00 9.38 0.37 45160385 4858 1200Example 5 37.63 8.34 0.00 0.00 0.00 51.14 2.89 15433 3768 1050Example 6 41.41 9.95 0.00 43.27 0.00 5.08 0.29 8835727 4920 1200Example 7 45.46 10.07 0.00 35.93 2.05 6.14 0.35 347539 4241 1200Example 8 35.88 7.92 0.00 40.62 2.13 12.74 0.71 1172207 4601 1200Example 9 35.13 7.75 0.00 39.77 4.17 12.48 0.70 210 2710 1050Example 10 41.85 9.28 0.00 0.00 4.66 41.86 2.35 66 1482 1050Example 11 40.75 10.89 0.00 1.27 4.68 40.04 2.36 320835 4424 1050Example 12 41.43 9.18 0.00 1.68 4.80 40.48 2.42 113294 4098 1150Example 13 41.18 9.12 0.00 2.81 4.90 39.59 2.40 844 2218 1000Example 14 41.01 9.08 0.00 3.37 4.95 39.09 2.50 304 1974 1050Example 15 40.79 9.04 0.00 4.23 5.02 38.39 2.53 194 2500 1000Example 16 40.44 8.96 0.00 5.66 5.14 37.22 2.58 1587 3249 1050Example 17 39.71 8.79 0.00 8.56 5.38 34.84 2.72 86 2210 1050Example 18 35.61 7.89 0.00 0.00 5.38 48.38 2.73 24544 3758 1050Example 19 38.89 8.61 0.00 37.44 5.88 8.83 0.35 9817475 4980 1200Example 20 37.47 8.29 0.00 17.55 6.13 27.48 3.08 2611 3354 1050Example 21 37.43 8.28 0.00 17.79 6.15 27.30 3.06 2945243 4730 1200Example 22 37.38 8.27 0.00 18.03 6.17 27.12 3.03 22 1064 1050Example 23 37.20 8.23 0.00 19.01 6.26 26.38 2.92 714712 4394 1050Example 24 36.28 8.01 0.00 37.69 6.70 10.71 0.61 4319689 4860 1200Example 25 36.29 8.02 0.00 24.04 6.72 22.61 2.32 858 3077 1000Example 26 34.90 7.70 0.00 37.96 7.40 11.40 0.64 2405281 4687 1200Example 27 36.62 8.10 0.00 19.21 7.56 25.68 2.83 565487 4422 1150Example 28 33.72 7.44 0.00 38.18 8.00 11.98 0.66 43 1800 1000Example 29 36.05 7.97 0.00 19.41 8.83 25.00 2.74 263108 4208 1050Example 30 27.86 6.17 0.00 42.81 8.97 13.42 0.77 15688 3723 1050__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________Composition and characteristic of manganese-nickel-zinc-cobalt-iron-titanium group metal oxide thermistorComposition and characteristic Resistivity SinteringComposition (wt %) (25.degree. C.) B constant temperatureExamples a b c d e f g (ohm .multidot. cm) (.degree.K.) (.degree.C.)__________________________________________________________________________Example 31 49.46 10.96 0.44 34.68 0.55 3.71 0.20 243866 4230 1150Example 32 49.43 10.95 0.63 34.47 0.79 3.53 0.20 916952 4401 1200Example 33 48.95 10.98 4.34 30.41 5.45 0.00 0.00 6970 3561 1050Example 34 45.45 10.08 5.17 35.05 0.00 4.02 0.23 452 2663 1000Example 35 46.14 10.23 5.71 33.97 0.00 3.74 0.21 223838 4121 1050Example 36 46.98 10.24 8.40 31.16 0.00 3.04 0.18 332223 4436 1150Example 37 47.28 10.49 9.02 30.20 0.00 2.85 0.16 4319689 4563 1200Example 38 47.72 10.58 9.95 29.03 0.00 2.57 0.15 6970 3753 1050Example 39 48.89 10.84 10.46 28.51 0.69 0.47 0.14 150207 4110 1150Example 40 48.25 10.70 10.56 26.95 1.33 2.13 0.08 11388271 4682 1200Example 41 49.13 10.89 11.63 23.25 3.65 1.37 0.08 1626 2300 1000Example 42 48.32 10.70 12.25 22.04 5.46 1.15 0.08 308 2784 1000Example 43 47.25 10.47 13.05 20.50 7.81 0.87 0.05 939532 4546 1200Example 44 43.88 9.72 15.58 15.58 15.24 0.00 0.00 4398 3612 1050Example 45 48.44 10.74 17.42 8.70 8.21 6.14 0.35 1098 2493 1000Example 46 50.12 11.11 17.80 13.42 4.19 3.17 0.19 982 2978 1050Example 47 37.66 8.34 18.14 18.14 17.72 0.00 0.00 214021 4280 1150Example 48 51.76 11.47 18.38 18.39 0.00 0.00 0.00 74 1350 1000Example 49 51.62 11.44 18.57 9.27 2.19 6.54 0.37 292 1990 1000Example 50 48.79 10.83 18.82 0.00 9.11 11.81 0.66 149262125 5260 1200Example 51 51.72 11.46 19.95 0.00 3.76 12.38 0.70 68722325 4996 1200Example 52 21.86 7.14 20.26 0.00 30.61 19.06 1.08 20617 3608 1150Example 53 42.81 9.48 20.62 20.62 6.47 0.00 0.00 655807 4571 1200Example 54 42.29 9.37 20.63 10.31 9.72 7.27 0.41 2059706 4532 1200Example 55 53.68 11.89 20.71 0.00 0.00 12.99 0.73 6479534 4905 1200Example 56 44.43 9.85 21.68 10.83 5.15 7.64 0.42 1963495 4692 1200Example 57 41.53 13.56 22.00 10.99 0.00 7.75 4.17 216377 4120 1150Example 59 21.93 7.16 30.49 0.00 0.00 38.26 2.16 60868 1441 1150Example 60 36.80 12.03 34.11 17.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 75595 3920 1150Example 61 21.92 7.16 40.63 0.00 0.00 28.67 1.62 85216 3983 1150Example 62 21.90 7.15 50.76 0.00 0.00 19.10 1.09 58905 3961 1150__________________________________________________________________________
FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating the relationship between resistance and temperature of the metal oxide group thermistor made from the composition of the examples of the present invention shown in above table 1 and table 2.
The metal oxide group thermistor of the present invention obtained through such manufacturing process bears a spinel structure, and it can be understood that even if iron oxide together with titanium oxide are added in considerable amount as shown in above table 1, they are sufficiently molten in solid state and thereby it is possible to manufacture an excellent thermistor having a wide resistance range.
Therefore, the metal oxide group thermistor material of the present invention has the advantage that whole or most of the expensive cobalt oxide is replaced by cheap iron oxide and titanium oxide and thereby not only can the manufacturing expense of thermistor be reduced but also the use of copper oxide which operates as a harmful substance upon manufacturing of the thermistor can be excluded so that safety of manufacturing workplace can be increased.
Also when copper oxide is added as shown in table 2, the added quantity of iron oxide and titanium oxide can be greatly changed, and therefore the resistance range can be widely controlled, and B constant can be raised.
On the other hand, the metal oxide group thermistor material of the present invention is a multiple ingredient composition, and since sintering is executed at 1000.degree. C.-1200.degree. C. by mutual eutectic reaction, the sintering temperature can be lowered as much as about 100.degree. C.-250.degree. C. relative to the sintering temperature of conventional manganese-nickel-cobalt-copper group thermistor, and therefore there is an advantage in that manufacturing expense of the thermistor can be reduced.
Claims
  • 1. Metal oxide group thermistor material which is the result of firing an admixture consisting essentially of a MnCO.sub.3 +b NiO+c CuO+d ZnO+e Co.sub.3 O.sub.4 +f Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 +g TiO.sub.3 in the following ratio by weight:
  • 27.86.ltoreq.a.ltoreq.53.68
  • 6.17.ltoreq.b.ltoreq.13.56
  • 0.ltoreq.c.ltoreq.50.76
  • 0.ltoreq.d.ltoreq.48.25
  • 0.ltoreq.e.ltoreq.30.61
  • 0.ltoreq.f.ltoreq.51.14
  • provided that a+b+c+d+e+f+g=100 and e+f+g.ltoreq.54.
  • 2. Metal oxide group thermistor material according to claim 1 wherein:
  • 21.86.ltoreq.a.ltoreq.49.52
  • 6.17.ltoreq.b.ltoreq.10.97
  • c=0
  • 0.ltoreq.e.ltoreq.8.97
  • 5.08.ltoreq.f.ltoreq.51.14
  • 0.29.ltoreq.g.ltoreq.3.08.
  • 3. Metal oxide group thermistor material of claim 1 wherein:
  • 21.86.ltoreq.a.ltoreq.53.86
  • 7.14b.ltoreq.13.56
  • 0.44c.ltoreq.50.76
  • 0.ltoreq.d.ltoreq.35.05
  • 0.ltoreq.e.ltoreq.30.61
  • 0.ltoreq.f.ltoreq.38.26
  • 0.ltoreq.g.ltoreq.7.71.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
12585/1990 Aug 1990 KRX
Parent Case Info

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/645,126 filed on Jan. 24, 1991 now abandoned.

US Referenced Citations (3)
Number Name Date Kind
3015633 Humbert et al. Jan 1962
4347166 Tosaki et al. Aug 1982
4891158 Hata Jan 1990
Continuations (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 645126 Jan 1991