Analytical Sciences

Examination of the Mass Transfer of Additive Elements in Barium Titanate Ceramics during Sintering Process by Laser Ablation ICP-MS

Daisuke SAKATE,* Yoshiki IWAZAKI,* Yoshiaki KON,** Takaomi YOKOYAMA,** and Masaki OHATA***

*TAIYO YUDEN CO., LTD., 5607-2 Nakamuroda-machi, Takasaki, Gunma 370-3347, Japan
**Mineral Resources Research Group, Research Institute for Geo-Resources and Environment, Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan
***Inorganic Standards Group, Research Institute for Material and Chemical Measurement, National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba 305-8563, Japan

The mass transfer of additive elements during the sintering of barium titanate (BaTiO₃) ceramic was examined by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) in the present study. An analytical sample consisting of two pellets of BaTiO₃ with different concentrations of additive elements of manganese (Mn) and holmium (Ho) as well as silicon (Si) as a sintering reagent was prepared and measured by LA-ICP-MS with small laser irradiated diameter of 10 μm to evaluate the distributions and concentrations of additive elements in order to examine their mass transfers. As results, enrichments of Mn and Si as an additive element and a sintering reagent, respectively, were observed on the adhesive surface between two BaTiO₃ pellets, even though Ho did not show a similar phenomenon. The mass transfers of additive elements of Mn and Ho were also examined, and Mn seemed to show a larger mass transfer than that of Ho during the sintering process for BaTiO₃ ceramics. The results obtained in this study shows the effectives of LA-ICP-MS for the future improvement of MLCCs.

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