| abstract |
A semiconducting internal boundary layer ceramic composition having a fine grain structure suitable for use in thin-layer multilayer capacitors is made in one step by firing a mixture comprising a major amount of finely divided strontium titanate, a minor amount of a compound containing either strontium or titanium, or an element functionally equivalent thereto, a minor amount of a semiconductor forming ingredient (dopant), the identity of which depends on whether the mixture is rich in strontium or in titanium, and a minor amount of a counterdopant selected from cuprous oxide or silver oxide. When the mixture is rich in titanium, the chemical doping agent used to produce semiconductivity is an oxide of a trivalent metal selected from bismuth, boron, iron, antimony, lanthanum and the rare earth and transition metals. When the mixture is rich in strontium, the dopant is an oxide of a pentavalent or hexavalent metal selected from tungsten (+6), niobium (+5), tantalum (+5), and molybdenum (+6). |