Interdiffusion between Ba(Ti,Zr)O3 dielectric and internal Ni electrode layers in multi-layer capacitors with an active-layer thickness of 5µm was studied by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectrometric analysis. It was found that such interdiffusion led to the formation of some defects and to lattice distortion near to the interface. The degree of Ni diffusion into Ba(Ti,Zr)O3 was higher than that of Ba(Ti,Zr)O3 into Ni. The energy-dispersive spectrometric analysis confirmed the differing degrees of diffusion.

Investigation of Interdiffusion in Ba(Ti,Zr)O3-Based Y5V Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors with Ni Electrodes. L.Chen, X.Wang, B.Qiao, L.Li: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 2007, 46[2], 780-2