Revisiting the Feasibility of Distinguishing the Long-Term Stability of MOVs by Power Loss

Metal oxide varistors (MOVs) with steady decrease and continuous increase in power loss are generally distinguished as stable and instable, respectively. In this article, the power loss of modern stable MOVs were found to anomalously increase, when the aging voltage was even lowered. In other words, those MOVs were superficially stable in harsh conditions but instable in mild conditions, which was against common sense. In addition, a crossover phenomenon and an overall deterioration in the current–voltage characteristics were observed in the forward and reverse directions, respectively. The unique aging results were in well consistency with the numerical simulation, where redistribution of ions in depletion layers was involved. For modern stable MOVs with adamant interface states, the formation of “U”-shaped ion distribution in depletion layers resulted in increased barrier height at high voltages but decreased height at low voltages. For an arbitrary MOV, the evolution of power loss during aging was a result of competition between consumption of interface states and re-distribution of ions in depletion layers. Therefore, the power loss might not be sufficient to represent the degradation of MOVs. Quantitative studies deep into the dynamics of point defects of Schottky barriers of MOVs are urgent.