Large internal stress induced nonlinear current-voltage behavior in nanodiamond strengthened ZnO ceramics

The modulation of the electrostatic potential barrier at grain boundaries determines the performance of many ceramic-based electronics such as varistors. However, conventional protocols relying on complex doping and annealing processes inevitably increase the inhomogeneity of microstructure, which may jeopardize the performance stability and mechanical reliability in service. Instead of doping, herein we demonstrate an effective strategy to modulate the potential barrier in ZnO-based low-voltage varistors by exploiting internal stress-induced piezoelectric polarization. The local residual stress as large as ~1 GPa can be created in the ZnO matrix by incorporating ultra-stiff nanodiamond particles using a cold sintering process. As a result, the composite with only 2 wt% of nanodiamond exhibits a prominent nonlinear current-voltage response at a low switch voltage of 15.7 V/mm, which is ascribed to the depressed barrier height induced by the distinct effects of positively and negatively charged polarization on grain boundaries. More strikingly, the large internal stress can significantly enhance the strength of the composite by more than 230% compared with the monolith, owing to the highly strengthened grain boundaries and crack-tip bridging from prestressed nanodiamonds. These findings add internal stress as a new dimension to design mechanically robust ceramic electronics with high performance.