A new smart material-multilayer PTC thermistor

New multilayer PTC thermistors, barium titanate-based ceramics, and polymer V/sub 2/O/sub 3/-based composites, have been studied. These thermistors are also passively smart materials with a self-repair mechanism by nonlinear temperature dependent resistance (R(T)) and voltage dependent current (I(V)) behavior. The laminated ceramic and composite thermistors possess many good features, such as small size and new characteristics of lower resistivity and larger current. It is the first time that such multilayer PTC thermistors have been reported. The lamination technology and electrical behavior of a multilayer positive temperature coefficient (MLPTC) thermistor were investigated.<
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