Electronic device and method

1. An article, comprising:

a plurality of layers, each layer comprising:

a unsintered mass having a sinter temperature that is less than about 1050 degrees Celsius,

an inner electrode proximate to the unsintered mass, wherein the inner electrode is comprised of a material having a melting point that is within a determined temperature range of about 10 degrees Celsius to about 200 degrees Celsius above the sintering temperature.

2. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the inner electrode and the unsintered mass have been subjected simultaneously to the sinter temperature to form a metal oxide varistor.

3. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein at least one inner electrode consists essentially of silver.

4. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the inner electrode comprises one or more of aluminum alloy, silver-palladium alloy, copper, silver, tin, aluminum, iron, carbon, nickel, chromium, or gold, and which is present in an amount or a ratio such the melting temperature of the inner electrode is controlled relative to the sintering temperature of the unsintered mass so that co-firing of the inner electrode and the unsintered mass at about the sintering temperature produces a varistor.

5. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the inner electrode is free of platinum, palladium, or both platinum and palladium.

6. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the inner electrode comprises a metal having a melting point of less than about 950 degrees Celsius.

7. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the unsintered mass comprises zinc oxide.

8. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the unsintered mass further comprises a sintering additive and a grain growth inhibitor additive.

9. The article as defined in claim 8 , wherein the sintering additive comprises one or both of Li 2 CO 3 and LiBiO 3 .

10. The article as defined in claim 8 , wherein the grain growth inhibitor additive comprises one or more of SiO 2 , Sb 2 O 3 , CaO, Al 2 O 3 , MgO, or Fe 2 O 3 .

11. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the article is sintered to form a nano-structured varistor comprising a sintered mass and an electrode, wherein the sintered mass comprises a plurality of nano-sized cores and a grain boundary layer disposed between each of the plurality of cores.

12. The article as defined in claim 11 , wherein the sintered mass has a plurality of cores, and an average diameter of the cores is less than about 500 nanometers.

13. The article as defined in claim 11 , wherein an average distance from one core to an adjacent core in the plurality of cores is less than about 500 nanometers.

14. The article as defined in claim 11 , wherein an average thickness of the nano-structured sintered mass is less than about 1000 micrometers.

15. The article as defined in claim 1 , further comprising an outer electrode.

16. The article as defined in claim 15 , wherein the outer electrode comprises one or more of lead, tin, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, lead-tin alloy, tin-copper alloy, palladium, or alloys of the forgoing.

17. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the article has a dielectric constant of less than about 1000.

18. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the article has a sintered density of more than about 95%.

19. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the article has a leakage current of less than about 10 −5 Ampere per square centimeter.

20. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the article has a breakdown voltage of greater than about 0.5 kilo Volt per millimeter.

21. The article as defined in claim 1 ,*wherein the article responds to electrical voltage overstress of about 1 kilo Volts by shunting electrical current to a ground.

22. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the article protects against an overstress above a threshold voltage of about more than about 10 volts.

23. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the unsintered mass is sandwiched between the inner electrodes.

24. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the unsintered mass is less than about 100 microns.

25. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the article is less than about 5 millimeters.

26. The article as defined in claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the inner electrodes is less than about 100 microns.

27. An electronic device comprising the article of claim 1 .

28. A method of protecting an electric circuit comprising the electronic device of claim 27 from a transient electrical voltage surge or spike, comprising:

electrically connecting the article to a power source for the electrical circuit, and the electrodes to ground.

29. A method, comprising:

sintering a unsintered mass at a temperature in a temperature profile that is sufficiently high that a sintered mass is formed from the unsintered mass, and the temperature profile is less than about 1050 degrees Celsius; and

forming one or more inner electrodes coupled to the sintered mass simultaneously with the sintering, and thereby to form an article having plurality of layers each layer comprising the inner electrodes coupled to, and in electrical communication through, the sintered mass.

30. The method as defined in claim 29 , further comprising selecting the inner electrode to be a metal having a melting point within a determined temperature range relative to the temperature profile.

31. The method as defined in claim 29 , wherein sintering comprises directing microwave radiation at the unsintered mass.

32. An article, comprising:

a plurality of layers, each layer comprising:

a unsintered mass having a sinter temperature that is less than about 1050 degrees Celsius,

wherein the inner electrode is comprised of a material having a material having a melting point that is within a determined temperature range of about 10 degrees Celsius to about 200 degrees Celsius relative to the sintering temperature.