The durability of the ZnO varistor is related with its electric, microstructural and thermal characteristics, and with the phenomenon of mass transport at grain boundaries under varistor operation. The polarization state at grain boundaries is related to the diffusion of zinc, oxygen and dopants during the application of the electric potential and/or of the temperature. When the electric potential is removed and the polarization state doesn't recover its natural state, the device presents the worst parameters and the varistor degrades, decreasing its lifetime. In this work, a simulation of the diffusion of interstitial zinc and of oxygen vacancy in ZnO varistor is done. In addition, the durability of the varistor was simulated, through the factorial design of electric, thermal and geometric parameters that characterize the device. It was found that the diffusion of the interstitial zinc controls mainly the electrical properties of the varistor. It was also observed that when the temperature is increased and the tension drops to 0.5 mA/cm², the lifetime of the varistor decreases.
simulation; diffusion; durability; ZnO varistor
