Abstract: To further study the effect of sputtered Au film as transition electrode layer on the electrical properties and interface microstructures of Na₂O-PbO-Nb₂O₅-SiO₂ multi-layer glass-ceramic capacitors, Au films pre-deposited at different time were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering. Compared with the single paste electrode structure, samples with Au films pre-deposited from 6 to 18~min have the consistent performance to effectively improve the electrical properties of the capacitors, resulting in the doubled breakdown strength, an increase of equivalent capacitance by 22% and a decrease of leakage current by an order of magnitude. SEM observations indicate that the Au films with deposition time from 6 to 18~min would all help the formation of a dense electrode/dielectric interface and inhibit the diffusion of Ag. The results reveal that Au film pre-deposited for 6 min as inner electrode was sufficient to improve the interface microstructure and therefore to inhibit the Ag diffusion and enhance the overall performance of the multi-layer glass-ceramic capacitors.

Key words: Inner electrode, Deposition time, Glass-ceramic, Multi-layer capacitor