A model of dc leakage in ceramic capacitors

Abstract

Data of low-voltage instable capacitors by A. M. Holladay [NASA Conference Publication 2186, Capacitor Techniques, Application and Reliability, 27–31, Feb. 24−25 (1981)], Schottky-like current-voltage characteristics of ’’unreliable’’ capacitors by D. A. Payne [Proceedings of the 1967 International Reliability Physics Symposium, 257–264 (1967)], and stress voltage-dependence of life time of normal capacitors by W. J. Minford, M. A. Yatsko, and W. B. Baker [American Ceramic Society Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio (1979)] lead to a unified dc leakage model for ceramic capacitors, wherein current-emitting grains subjected to a Poole–Frenkel field ≃105 V/cm are connected by leakage path with ∼102, ∼105, and ∼109 Ω, respectively.