Investigation of the Positive Temperature Coefficient Resistivity of Nb-Doped Ba0.55Sr0.45TiO3 Ceramics

The demands of low-Curie-temperature (~−10 °C) positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistors are increasing in advanced precision integrated circuits and other industries. In this paper, the Nb-doped Ba0.55Sr0.45TiO3(BST)-based PTC resistivity materials are reported. The effects of the sintering process, especially the cooling rate on the PTC properties of the material, are investigated. The results indicate that the Ba0.55Sr0.45Ti0.9985Nb0.0015O3composition of the prepared PTC ceramics demonstrates promising PTC characteristics. These include a Curie temperature as low as −13 °C, a high temperature coefficient of 0.296 at −3.4 °C, a large enough resistivity change of 3.1 over a narrow phase transition temperature range of approximately 38 °C, and moderate resistivity below the Curie temperature. Such properties suggest that the Ba0.55Sr0.45Ti0.9985Nb0.0015O3ceramics are likely suitable for use in thermal management systems designed for low-temperature control.