| abstract |
A PTC thermistor ceramic composition comprising: a sintered body comprising a barium titanate-based compound represented by the following formula (1) as the main component, ( Ba 1 - x - y - w Bi x A y RE w ) α ( Ti 1 - z TM z ) O 3 wherein A in the formula (1) represents at least one member selected from the group consisting of Na and K, RE represents at least one element selected from the group consisting of Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy and Er, TM represents at least one element selected from the group consisting of V, Nb and Ta, w, x, y, z and α satisfy the following inequalities (2) to (5) in which the units of w, x, y and z are all moles and α represents the molar ratio of the Ba site to the Ti site . 1.02 y ≤ x ≤ 1.5 y 0,007 ≤ y ≤ 0,125 ( w + z ) = 0 or 0 < ( w + z ) ≤ 0.01, where w > 0 and z > 0 0.97 ≤ α ≤ 1.06 Ca is further contained in a proportion of 0.01 mole or more and less than 0.05 mole relative to 1 mole of a Ti site as an element. |