From Barium Titanate Dielectrics to Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors: Dielectric Properties and Experimental Evaluation of Barium Titanate-Based Ceramics

Introduction

Barium titanate is a typical perovskite oxide and an important base material for high-permittivity ceramic capacitor dielectrics. Its core value does not lie in light absorption, but in generating strong dielectric polarization under an electric field, enabling small-volume components to achieve relatively high capacitance. The miniaturization of multilayer ceramic capacitors depends on the high dielectric response of barium titanate-based ceramics, as well as on the control of powder particle size, grain size, grain boundaries, sintering density, internal electrodes, and defects. Class II ceramic capacitors are usually based on barium titanate-based materials. They have relatively high dielectric constants, but their capacitance is affected by temperature, DC bias, and time.

1. What Problems Does Barium Titanate Solve in Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors?

The chemical formula of barium titanate is BaTiO₃. Its crystal structure can be understood in terms of three parts: the barium site, the titanium site, and the oxygen site.

Structural position	Corresponding component	Role in dielectric performance
Barium site	Barium ion	Supports the perovskite lattice and affects lattice size and phase stability
Titanium site	Titanium ion	Located inside the oxygen octahedron and serves as a key center for polarization response
Oxygen site	Oxygen ion	Forms the oxygen octahedral framework; oxygen vacancies affect leakage, loss, and reliability

Barium titanate is suitable as a ceramic capacitor material mainly because it addresses three needs:

Capacitor requirement	Function provided by barium titanate
Achieving relatively high capacitance in a small volume	High dielectric constant increases capacitance per unit volume
Forming ceramic dielectric layers	Suitable for powder preparation, tape casting, stacking, and sintering
Tunable performance through modification	Doping, solid solution formation, and sintering control can improve temperature stability, dielectric loss, and reliability

A multilayer ceramic capacitor is not a single ceramic sheet. It is formed by alternately stacking ceramic dielectric layers and metal internal electrodes. In essence, it is a parallel combination of many ceramic parallel-plate capacitor units. Barium titanate-based ceramics, with their relatively high dielectric constant, are well suited to this type of high-capacitance, miniaturized design.

2. Why Does Barium Titanate Have a High Dielectric Response?

To store charge, a capacitor requires its dielectric material to polarize under an electric field. In the perovskite structure of barium titanate, the titanium ion is located inside an oxygen octahedron. In the ferroelectric phase, the titanium ion can deviate from the centrosymmetric position, so the centers of positive and negative charge no longer fully coincide, producing spontaneous polarization. Below the Curie temperature, barium titanate exhibits spontaneous polarization and domain structures, which are important sources of its high dielectric response.

Structural behavior	Dielectric result
Titanium ion deviates from the center of the oxygen octahedron	Generates local electric dipoles
Electric dipoles respond to the electric field	Increases dielectric constant
Ferroelectric domain walls move reversibly	Enhances small-signal dielectric response
Temperature approaches a phase-transition region	Dielectric constant changes significantly
Grains, grain boundaries, and defects change	Dielectric constant, loss, and reliability change together

The high dielectric performance of barium titanate is not determined by chemical formula alone. Even for BaTiO₃, differences in powder particle size, Ba/Ti ratio, grain size, grain-boundary state, and sintering atmosphere can lead to significantly different final dielectric properties. Grain size, phase transitions, domain walls, and grain boundaries in barium titanate all affect its dielectric and piezoelectric properties. In practical multilayer ceramic capacitors, barium titanate is usually modified through solid solution formation, rare-earth doping, grain-boundary control, and sintering optimization. The dielectric peak may be broadened or shifted, so the temperature characteristics of a device cannot be judged solely from the phase-transition temperature of pure BaTiO₃.

3. How Do Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors Achieve Miniaturization?

Capacitance is mainly affected by three factors: the dielectric constant of the dielectric material, the effective electrode area, and the thickness of the dielectric layer. Multilayer ceramic capacitors achieve relatively high capacitance in a small volume by increasing the dielectric constant, reducing the thickness of the ceramic dielectric layer, and increasing the number of stacked layers.

Miniaturization pathway	Contribution to capacitance	Requirements for materials and processing
Use high-permittivity barium titanate-based ceramics	Improves charge-storage capability per unit volume	High dielectric constant, low loss, high insulation resistance
Reduce dielectric layer thickness	Increases capacitance density	Fine powders, uniform films, few defects
Increase the number of stacked layers	Increases the effective parallel electrode area	Stable tape casting, stacking, pressing, and co-firing
Use continuous internal electrodes	Increases effective electrode area	Electrode paste, sintering atmosphere, and interface matching
Improve ceramic density	Reduces leakage and breakdown risk	Control of pores, cracks, and abnormal grains

Miniaturization is not simply a matter of making the ceramic layers thinner. The thinner the dielectric layer, the more likely pores, coarse grains, secondary phases, cracks, and local thickness nonuniformity are to become weak points for breakdown. Therefore, high-capacitance multilayer ceramic capacitors must satisfy both high dielectric performance and high reliability.

4. Why Do Barium Titanate-Based Materials Usually Require Modification?

Pure barium titanate has a relatively high dielectric response, but its dielectric properties are sensitive to temperature and phase transitions. In electronic components, capacitors need to maintain acceptable capacitance and insulation performance over a specified temperature range, under DC voltage, and during long-term storage. Therefore, barium titanate-based materials usually require modification.

Modification objective	Problem addressed	Common direction
Improve temperature stability	Avoid large capacitance fluctuations with temperature	Solid-solution or composite regulation using strontium titanate, calcium zirconate, barium zirconate, and related materials
Reduce dielectric loss	Reduce heating and energy loss	Combined acceptor/donor doping, grain-boundary barrier control, and control of oxygen-vacancy migration
Increase insulation resistance	Reduce leakage	Rare-earth, manganese-based, magnesium-based, and related additives combined with reoxidation treatment to regulate grain-boundary resistance, electronic defects, and oxygen-vacancy migration
Improve breakdown strength	Withstand higher electric fields	Fine grains, high density, reduced pores and cracks
Control grain growth	Avoid abnormal grains that create local weak points	Doping, sintering aids, and control of the sintering schedule
Improve batch stability	Reduce formulation and process fluctuations	Control of powder particle size, Ba/Ti ratio, and mixing uniformity

5. Capacitance Changes in Barium Titanate-Based Capacitors: Temperature, DC Bias, and Aging

Barium titanate-based Class II ceramic capacitors have high dielectric constants, but their capacitance is not fixed. When using or evaluating these capacitors, three types of changes require particular attention: temperature dependence, DC bias dependence, and aging.

5.1 Temperature Change

Barium titanate is a ferroelectric material, and its crystal structure and domain response vary with temperature. When temperature changes, the dielectric constant changes accordingly, and the capacitance also changes.

Temperature-related factor	Capacitance behavior
Crystal phase transition	Capacitance changes significantly in certain temperature ranges
Change in domain-structure response	Dielectric constant varies with increasing or decreasing temperature
Change in defect and grain-boundary response	Dielectric loss and insulation performance may change
Different modified formulations	Different temperature-stability classes are obtained

Class I ceramic materials have better temperature stability and lower dielectric constants, so their capacitance is usually lower under the same size and structure. Class II ceramic materials are often based on barium titanate-based compositions and can provide relatively high capacitance in a small volume, but they are affected by temperature.

5.2 DC Bias

Under a DC voltage, the capacitance of barium titanate-based Class II ceramic capacitors usually decreases. This is because the DC electric field causes some ferroelectric domains and polarization states to become oriented. As a result, the response space available for domain-wall motion and nonlinear polarization under a small-signal electric field is reduced, lowering the effective dielectric constant.

DC bias effect	Device behavior
Polarization tends to become oriented	Small-signal dielectric response decreases
Domain-wall motion is restricted	Effective dielectric constant decreases
Electric field increases inside thin dielectric layers	Breakdown and reliability stress increase
High-capacitance, small-size devices are more sensitive	Effective capacitance under operating voltage may be lower than the nominal value

5.3 Aging Over Time

After sintering and cooling, after de-aging heat treatment, or after reflow soldering/high-temperature treatment sufficient to exceed the Curie temperature, Class II ferroelectric ceramic capacitors begin from a relatively high initial capacitance state and then gradually lose capacitance during storage. This phenomenon is called aging. It is related to the gradual stabilization of ferroelectric domains, interactions between defects and domain walls, and the tendency of the crystal structure to stabilize over time.

Aging is usually expressed as an “aging rate,” meaning the approximate percentage decrease in capacitance for each tenfold increase in time under specified conditions. For example, if capacitance decreases by a similar percentage from 1 hour to 10 hours and from 10 hours to 100 hours, the aging rate can be used to describe this trend. In practical evaluation, the test starting point, test duration, temperature conditions, and capacitance retention should be specified.

Source of aging	Capacitance behavior
Ferroelectric domains gradually stabilize	Responsive polarization decreases
Defects interact with domain walls	Domain-wall motion is restricted
Lattice state adjusts over time	Capacitance slowly decreases
Cooling after heating above the Curie temperature	Aging state can be restarted

6. How Do Powders, Grains, and Grain Boundaries Affect Dielectric Performance and Reliability?

The dielectric layers in multilayer ceramic capacitors are very thin. In barium titanate-based ceramics, pores, abnormal grains, local compositional segregation, and grain-boundary defects can all become weak points for leakage or breakdown. Powder particle size and particle-size distribution affect tape casting, sintering densification, and final grain size. Grain size and grain-boundary structure further affect dielectric constant, dielectric loss, insulation resistance, breakdown strength, and capacitance uniformity. Grain refinement usually helps improve the uniformity of thin dielectric layers and breakdown strength, but excessive grain refinement may weaken the contribution of ferroelectric domains and domain walls to the dielectric constant. Therefore, grain-size control should balance dielectric constant, dielectric loss, breakdown strength, and DC bias characteristics.

Thus, even for the same barium titanate-based formulation, differences in powder dispersibility, sintered density, grain uniformity, and grain-boundary insulation state can lead to significant differences in final capacitance, dielectric loss, withstand voltage, and long-term reliability.

Microstructural factor	Main direction of influence	Priority observations in experiments
Powder particle size	Affects tape-casting uniformity, sintering activity, and final grain size	Particle-size distribution, agglomeration state, slurry dispersibility
Powder purity	Affects secondary phases, leakage, and dielectric loss	Metallic impurities, residual carbonates, phase purity
Green-body density	Affects sintering shrinkage, pores, and layer-thickness uniformity	Green density, pore distribution, interlayer defects
Grain size	Affects dielectric constant, domain structure, DC bias characteristics, and breakdown strength	Average grain size, grain-size distribution
Abnormal grains	May form local electric-field concentration and weak breakdown points	Coarse grains, local nonuniform regions
Grain-boundary structure	Affects insulation, leakage, aging, and reliability	Grain-boundary phases, grain-boundary segregation, grain-boundary resistance
Pores and cracks	Reduce breakdown strength and mechanical reliability	Porosity, cracks, delamination defects

7. How Do the Sintering Process and Internal Electrodes Affect Device Reliability?

Multilayer ceramic capacitors are formed by alternately stacking ceramic dielectric layers and metal internal electrodes. The sintering process must not only fully densify the barium titanate-based ceramic, but also maintain internal electrode continuity, stable interlayer bonding, and reduced defects such as pores, cracks, residual carbon, and abnormal grains.

When sintering and internal-electrode matching are poor, the device may still show increased leakage, reduced breakdown strength, greater capacitance dispersion, or insufficient long-term reliability, even if the dielectric formulation itself has a high dielectric constant.

Process step	Main direction of influence
Tape casting	Affects dielectric layer thickness, film uniformity, and local defect distribution
Stacking and lamination	Related to interlayer bonding, thickness consistency, and structural integrity
Binder burnout	Removes organic matter and reduces the risk of residual carbon, pores, and cracking
Co-firing	Promotes ceramic densification, grain growth, and formation of continuous internal electrodes
Atmosphere control	Affects defect states in barium titanate, electrode oxidation/reduction, and dielectric insulation performance
Termination processing	Affects external connection, soldering reliability, and terminal mechanical strength

Precious-metal internal electrode systems are usually represented by palladium or silver-palladium alloys. They have a relatively broad processing window, but the metal cost is high. Increasing the silver content can reduce electrode cost and alloy melting point, but pure silver is generally not suitable for co-firing as an internal electrode with ordinary high-temperature barium titanate ceramics. It is more often used in low-temperature sintering systems, external electrodes, or specific silver-based electrode studies. Nickel is an important base-metal internal electrode material in modern multilayer ceramic capacitors and helps reduce electrode cost, but it must be co-fired under a low oxygen partial pressure or reducing atmosphere to avoid nickel oxidation. Therefore, barium titanate-based dielectrics need reduction resistance and must maintain insulation resistance and long-term reliability through grain-boundary and defect control.

Failure behavior	Common direction of cause
Increased leakage	Increased oxygen vacancies, insufficient grain-boundary insulation, secondary-phase formation, or excessive reduction
Reduced breakdown strength	Locally thin layers, pores, abnormal grains, cracks, or electrode burrs
Greater capacitance dispersion	Nonuniform layer thickness, poor powder dispersion, inconsistent sintering shrinkage, or uneven electrode coverage
Unstable temperature characteristics	Insufficient phase-transition control, formulation deviation, or nonuniform grain-size distribution
Mechanical cracking	Ceramic brittleness, thermal stress, bending stress, soldering stress, or insufficient interlayer bonding
Insufficient long-term reliability	Grain-boundary degradation, defect migration, humidity/thermal effects, or electrode-interface reactions

Failure in barium titanate-based multilayer ceramic capacitors may originate from external structural defects, such as delamination, cracks, pores, and local weak points. It may also originate from intrinsic material issues, such as insufficient grain-boundary insulation, second-phase formation, excessive oxygen vacancies, and increased electronic defects. When evaluating these devices, the dielectric formulation, powder state, sintering schedule, atmosphere control, and internal-electrode matching should be considered together.

8. Which Indicators Should Be Checked First When Deciding Whether a Barium Titanate-Based Ceramic Formulation Is Worth Further Optimization?

The evaluation of barium titanate-based ceramics cannot rely only on dielectric constant. A high dielectric constant helps increase capacitance, but if it is accompanied by increased dielectric loss, decreased insulation resistance, insufficient breakdown strength, excessive capacitance variation with temperature, or obvious aging, the material’s application value in multilayer ceramic capacitors will be limited.

Experimental objective	Priority indicators	Key points for evaluation
Increase capacitance	Dielectric constant, layer thickness, effective electrode area	Whether the increase in dielectric constant is accompanied by increased loss
Improve temperature stability	Capacitance–temperature curve, dielectric loss–temperature curve	Whether the target temperature range is satisfied
Reduce dielectric loss	Dielectric loss, frequency response, leakage current	Whether defect conduction or grain-boundary problems exist
Improve withstand voltage	Breakdown strength, porosity, grain size	Whether local electric-field concentration exists
Improve long-term stability	Aging rate, insulation resistance, damp-heat testing	Whether capacitance and insulation performance deteriorate over time
Improve process reproducibility	Powder particle size, sintered density, batch data	Whether the formulation has a stable sintering window

9. What Problems Do Different Types of Chemicals Solve in Barium Titanate-Based Capacitor Materials?

Chemicals related to barium titanate-based multilayer ceramic capacitors should be understood according to their functions in the dielectric matrix, temperature characteristics, grain-boundary defects, sintering and forming, and electrode co-firing. Different materials solve different problems, and their amount, particle size, purity, and method of addition all affect the final dielectric performance and reliability.

Material category	Representative material or component	Main function
Main dielectric material	Barium titanate	Provides high dielectric response and serves as the core matrix of Class II high-permittivity ceramic dielectrics
Temperature-characteristic modifier	Strontium titanate, barium zirconate, calcium zirconate	Regulates phase-transition behavior and dielectric peak position, improving capacitance variation with temperature
Rare-earth grain-boundary and defect modifier	Lanthanum oxide, yttrium oxide, samarium oxide, dysprosium oxide	Regulates grain growth, grain-boundary barriers, insulation resistance, and long-term reliability; the specific effect depends on ionic radius, site occupation, dopant level, Ba/Ti ratio, and sintering atmosphere
Defect and loss modifier	Manganese oxide, magnesium oxide, cobalt oxide	Regulates defect states, leakage current, dielectric loss, and grain-growth behavior
Sintering and grain-boundary phase modifier	Silicon dioxide, boron oxide, glass-powder systems	Promotes densification and regulates grain-boundary phases, sintering temperature, and the sintering window
Internal electrode material	Nickel, silver-palladium systems	Forms internal electrodes and affects co-firing atmosphere, interface stability, cost, and reliability
Forming auxiliary material	Polyvinyl butyral, plasticizers, dispersants	Improves tape casting, forming, stacking, binder burnout, and green-body strength

The key relationships in material selection can be summarized as follows:

Selection target	Key related issues
Barium titanate powder	Dielectric foundation, powder activity, sintering behavior, and grain control
Solid-solution modifier	Temperature characteristics, dielectric peak position, and capacitance–temperature stability
Grain-boundary and defect modifier	Leakage current, dielectric loss, insulation resistance, aging, and breakdown strength
Sintering aid	Density, sintering temperature, grain-boundary phase, and grain growth
Internal electrode material	Co-firing atmosphere, interface matching, electrical conductivity, cost, and long-term reliability
Forming auxiliary material	Slurry stability, green-body strength, layer-thickness uniformity, and binder-burnout quality

Summary: Barium titanate determines the dielectric foundation; solid-solution modifiers regulate temperature characteristics; grain-boundary and defect modifiers control loss and reliability; sintering and forming materials affect process stability; and internal electrode materials influence co-firing conditions and device lifetime.

10. Selection Guide for Barium Titanate-Based Ceramic Capacitor Materials (Tables 1–4)

Research or experimental objective	Recommended table to review first	Why start with this table	Tables to review together	Guidance note
Establish a basic formulation for barium titanate-based ceramic capacitor dielectrics	Table 1	Table 1 focuses on barium titanate, strontium titanate, barium zirconate, and calcium zirconate, allowing the main dielectric matrix and temperature-characteristic modification direction to be determined first	Tables 2 and 3	First determine the barium titanate matrix and solid-solution modification direction, then combine synthetic raw materials, grain-boundary modifiers, and defect-control materials to refine the formulation
Prepare barium titanate or solid-solution modified powders from raw-material routes	Table 2	Table 2 includes barium carbonate, titanium dioxide, strontium carbonate, calcium carbonate, and zirconium dioxide, which can be used for solid-state reaction and powder-synthesis route design	Tables 1 and 4	Suitable for experiments focused on phase purity, Ba/Ti ratio, particle size, reaction activity, and sintering behavior
Improve capacitance variation with temperature	Table 1	Strontium titanate, barium zirconate, and calcium zirconate in Table 1 are directly related to the barium titanate matrix and can be used to regulate phase-transition behavior and dielectric temperature characteristics	Table 3	If temperature stability is still affected by grain boundaries, defects, or dielectric loss, Table 3 can be reviewed together to evaluate rare-earth oxides and transition-metal oxides
Study grain size, sintering density, and phase purity of barium titanate-based ceramics	Table 2	The raw materials in Table 2 determine powder reactivity, compositional uniformity, and initial particle size, which are upstream factors affecting grain growth and sintering behavior	Tables 3 and 4	Start with powder synthesis and raw-material particle size, then combine doping control and sintering aids to evaluate densification effects
Reduce dielectric loss, leakage, and insulation-failure risk	Table 3	Table 3 focuses on rare-earth oxides, niobium oxide, manganese dioxide, magnesium oxide, and cobalt oxide, which are directly related to grain-boundary, oxygen-vacancy, and defect control	Table 4	When loss or leakage is related to sintering atmosphere, grain-boundary phases, or electrode co-firing, Table 4 should be reviewed together to check sintering and electrode conditions
Improve breakdown strength and long-term reliability	Table 3	Breakdown strength is closely related to grain-boundary insulation, pores, abnormal grains, and defect states; the materials in Table 3 can be used for defect and grain-boundary regulation	Tables 2 and 4	Powder particle size, sintering density, pores, grain-boundary phases, and electrode interfaces should be checked together
Design low-temperature sintering or grain-boundary phase regulation experiments	Table 4	Table 4 includes diboron trioxide, silicon dioxide, and forming binders, which can be used for research on sintering aids, glass phases, and tape-casting/forming processes	Table 3	If low-temperature sintering causes increased dielectric loss or decreased insulation performance, Table 3 should be used together to adjust defect and grain-boundary states
Establish experiments related to ceramic tape casting, stacking, and binder burnout	Table 4	Polyvinyl butyral in Table 4 corresponds to ceramic forming and green-film strength control, making it an important material for multilayer ceramic capacitor process research	Table 2	Forming quality is also affected by powder particle size, dispersibility, and solid content; Table 2 can be used together to check powder source and particle-size basis
Compare the effects of precious-metal and base-metal electrodes on device structure	Table 4	Table 4 includes silver, nickel, and palladium, which can be used for research on electrode materials, co-firing atmosphere, and interface stability	Table 3	Nickel electrode systems require attention to dielectric insulation and oxygen-vacancy changes under reducing atmosphere; Table 3 can be used together for defect control
Analyze causes of large capacitance dispersion, high dielectric loss, or batch instability	Table 2	Batch differences are often related to raw-material purity, particle size, mixing uniformity, and completeness of solid-state reaction; Table 2 can be used first for upstream troubleshooting	Tables 3 and 4	First check raw materials and powder processing, then examine dopant distribution, sintering schedule, binder burnout, and electrode interfaces
Establish a complete material-screening route for multilayer ceramic capacitors	Table 1	Table 1 first determines the main dielectric material and the direction of temperature-characteristic modification, making it the starting point for formulation design	Tables 2, 3, and 4	An experimental route can be built in the sequence of “main dielectric material—synthetic raw materials—grain-boundary and defect control—sintering, forming, and electrodes”
Conduct control experiments on barium titanate-based ceramic capacitor materials	Table 1	Table 1 includes barium titanate and the main temperature-characteristic modifiers, making it convenient to establish controls among the matrix, solid-solution, and modified systems	Tables 2 and 3	Control experiments should record dielectric constant, dielectric loss, temperature curve, breakdown strength, insulation resistance, and sintered density at the same time

Table 1｜Main Dielectric Materials and Temperature-Characteristic Modifiers

Category	CAS No.	Aladdin Cat. No.	Name	Specification or purity	Product features and applications
Main high-permittivity perovskite material	12047-27-7	B106131	Barium titanate	PrimorTrace™, ≥99.99% metals basis	Core dielectric material for barium titanate-based ceramic capacitors; can be used in studies of high-permittivity ceramics, dielectric temperature characteristics, grain-size effects, and sintering processes
Perovskite material for temperature-characteristic regulation	12060-59-2	S118843	Strontium titanate	≥99.5% metals basis, ≤5 μm	Can form a solid-solution regulation system with barium titanate; used to reduce phase-transition sensitivity, improve dielectric temperature stability, and study barium strontium titanate ceramics
Material for temperature-characteristic and phase-transition regulation	12009-21-1	B476606	Barium zirconate	≥99% metals basis	Can be used for solid-solution modification and phase-transition regulation of barium titanate-based ceramics; suitable for studying dielectric peak broadening, temperature stability, and high-insulation ceramic formulations
Material for temperature-characteristic and grain-growth control	12013-47-7	C477831	Calcium zirconate	≥99.7% metals basis	Can be used for zirconium–calcium component regulation in barium titanate-based ceramics; commonly used in studies of temperature-characteristic improvement, grain-growth control, and dielectric reliability

Table 2｜Raw Materials for Barium Titanate-Based Powder Synthesis and Solid-Solution Components

Category	CAS No.	Aladdin Cat. No.	Name	Specification or purity	Product features and applications
Calcium source and raw material for calcium zirconate synthesis	471-34-1	C432744	Calcium carbonate	Anhydrous grade, ACS, ≥99%	Can serve as a calcium source for calcium zirconate, calcium-modified barium titanate, and solid-state reaction systems; suitable for studying the influence of calcium components on grain growth and dielectric temperature characteristics
Titanium source for titanate synthesis	13463-67-7	N1519826	Nano Titanium oxide	Electronic grade, ≥99.8% metals basis, 300–700 nm	Can serve as a titanium source for the synthesis of barium titanate and strontium titanate; the nanoscale particle size is beneficial for studies of solid-state reaction activity, powder uniformity, and sintering behavior
Barium source for barium titanate synthesis	513-77-9	B1519978	Barium carbonate	Electronic grade, ≥99.8% metals basis	Common barium source for solid-state synthesis of barium titanate powders; can be used for Ba/Ti ratio control, phase-purity optimization, and raw-material formulation studies for high-permittivity ceramics
Strontium source for strontium titanate synthesis	1633-05-2	S102043	Strontium Carbonate	Electronic grade, ≥99.5%, 0–1 μm	Can serve as a strontium source for preparing strontium titanate and barium strontium titanate systems; suitable for studying the influence of strontium components on dielectric temperature stability and phase-transition behavior
Raw material for zirconates and zirconium modification	1314-23-4	Z305381	Zirconium dioxide	≥99%	Can serve as a zirconium source for barium zirconate, calcium zirconate, and zirconium-modified barium titanate systems; suitable for studying the influence of zirconium components on phase transitions, insulation performance, and breakdown strength

Table 3｜Materials for Grain-Boundary, Defect, Insulation, and Dielectric-Loss Control

Category	CAS No.	Aladdin Cat. No.	Name	Specification or purity	Product features and applications
Rare-earth grain-boundary modifier	12060-58-1	S431576	Samarium(III) oxide dispersion	Nanoparticles, <100 nm particle size (BET)	Can be used for rare-earth modification of barium titanate-based ceramics; suitable for studying grain-boundary insulation, grain-growth control, and dielectric reliability
Donor-type modifier	1313-96-8	N108410	Niobium pentaoxide	Electronic grade, ≥99.98% metals basis	Can be used in niobium-doped barium titanate systems involving niobium pentoxide to study donor doping, charge compensation, grain growth, and dielectric response; insulation changes should be evaluated together with Ba/Ti ratio, co-doping, and sintering atmosphere
Acceptor-type defect-control material	1313-13-9	M101137	Manganese dioxide	PureSpectra™, spectroscopic grade	Can be used to regulate oxygen vacancies and reduce leakage and dielectric loss in barium titanate-based ceramics; suitable for studies of high insulation resistance and aging stability
Rare-earth grain-boundary and insulation modifier	1312-81-8	L103871	Lanthanum oxide	PureSpectra™, spectroscopic grade	Can be used for rare-earth doping and grain-boundary control in barium titanate-based ceramics; suitable for studying insulation resistance, dielectric loss, and temperature stability
Rare-earth grain-boundary and sintering modifier	1314-36-9	Y103888	Yttrium oxide	PrimorTrace™, ≥99.999% metals basis	Can be used to improve grain-boundary states, sintering behavior, and dielectric reliability in barium titanate-based ceramics; suitable for high-purity electronic ceramic formulation studies
Transition-metal defect-control material	1307-96-6	C105672	Cobalt oxide	PrimorTrace™, ≥99.99% metals basis	Can be used to regulate defect states and conductive behavior in barium titanate-based ceramics; suitable for studying leakage, dielectric loss, and the influence of sintering atmosphere
Grain-growth and insulation-control material	1309-48-4	M103941	Magnesium oxide	PrimorTrace™, ≥99.99% metals basis	Can be used for grain-growth control and insulation regulation in barium titanate-based ceramics; suitable for studying breakdown strength, grain-boundary structure, and dielectric loss
Rare-earth grain-boundary and reliability modifier	1308-87-8	D105275	Dysprosium oxide	PrimorTrace™, ≥99.99% metals basis	Can be used for rare-earth modification of barium titanate-based ceramics; suitable for studying grain-boundary insulation, temperature stability, aging behavior, and high-reliability capacitor dielectrics

Table 4｜Glass-Phase Regulation, Ceramic Forming Auxiliaries, and Electrode Reference Materials

Category	CAS No.	Aladdin Cat. No.	Name	Specification or purity	Product features and applications
Ceramic forming binder	63148-65-2	M1508536	Mowital® SB 60 HH Polyvinyl butyral (PVB)	Solids content ≥97.5%; viscosity 120.0–280.0 mPa·s	Can be used in ceramic tape casting, stacking, and forming processes to improve green-film strength, flexibility, and interlayer bonding stability
Low-temperature sintering and glass-phase component	1303-86-2	D431708	di-Boron trioxide	Ultrapure grade, ≥99.9995% metals basis	Can serve as a glass-phase and low-temperature sintering component to improve densification, lower sintering temperature, and regulate grain-boundary phases
Low-temperature sintering and grain-boundary phase component	7631-86-9	S116482	Silicon dioxide	AR, ≥99%	Can be used in glass-phase, grain-boundary phase, and sintering-aid systems; suitable for studying densification, grain control, and changes in dielectric loss
Silver-based electrode powder material	7440-22-4	S776852	Silver	D50: 0.30–0.50 μm; specific surface area: 0.8–1.5 m²/g	Fine silver powder; can be used for control studies of silver-based electrode pastes, low-temperature sintered electrodes, and silver-palladium electrode systems; suitable for evaluating metal powder dispersibility, electrode continuity, electrical conductivity, and ceramic interface matching. When used with barium titanate-based dielectrics, sintering temperature and silver-migration risk should be considered
Nickel-based internal electrode powder material	7440-02-0	N434833	Nickel	PrimorTrace™, ≥99.99% metals basis, powder, <150 μm	Can serve as a research raw material for nickel internal electrode systems and non-precious-metal electrode systems; used to investigate reducing-atmosphere co-firing, reduction-resistant barium titanate dielectrics, nickel–ceramic interface reactions, and electrode stability. Because the particle-size range is relatively broad, particle-size distribution, dispersibility, and sintering-shrinkage matching should be further evaluated if used for thin-dielectric-layer internal electrode pastes
Precious-metal electrode powder material	7440-05-3	P106012	Palladium	≥99.9% metals basis, ≤1 μm	Submicron palladium powder; can be used in studies of palladium electrodes and silver-palladium alloy electrode systems; suitable for evaluating sintering resistance, electrode continuity, interface stability, and co-firing compatibility with barium titanate-based ceramics. It can also serve as a precious-metal reference for nickel electrode systems

Note: The above are representative Aladdin products. More product specifications can be searched on the Aladdin website by product name, CAS number, or catalog number.

References

[1] Acosta M., Novak N., Rojas V., Patel S., Vaish R., Koruza J., Rossetti G. A., Rödel J. BaTiO₃-based piezoelectrics: Fundamentals, current status, and perspectives. Applied Physics Reviews, 2017, 4: 041305.

[2] Buscaglia V., Randall C. A. Size and scaling effects in barium titanate. An overview. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2020, 40: 3744–3758.

[3] Kahn M. Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors: Materials and Manufacture. Kyocera AVX.

[4] Rawal B. S., Chan N. H. Conduction and Failure Mechanisms in Barium Titanate Based Ceramics Under Highly Accelerated Conditions. Kyocera AVX.

[5] TDK Product Center. What is the difference between a Class I capacitor and a Class II capacitor?

[6] TDK Product Center. Does the capacitance of an MLCC change with temperature?

[7] TDK Product Center. What is MLCC “aging”?

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Perovskite PV/PeLED Precursor Guide: Selecting Metal Halide Salts, Key Conditions, and Reproducible Performance (including Product Tables 1–4 and a Selection Navigation Guide)

Perovskite Quantum Dots (PQDs)

Structure, Synthesis, and Applications of Barium Titanate – A Closer Look at the Core Dielectric Material in MLCCs

Ceramic Materials Guide: Basic Definitions, Classification Framework, and Research-Task-Oriented Selection (with Product Navigation and Tables 1–4)