Denso Corporation

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Kumi Sawaguchi

Takashi Yamamoto

Eturo Yasuda

Keigo Mizutani

Takashi Araki

Akira Fujii

Toshiatsu Nagaya

Hitoshi Shindo

Atsuhiro Sumiya

Mitsunobu Nakatou

Ryoji Kai

A NOx sensor is provided which decreases a change rate of an oxygen ion current in a sensor electrode and shortens an activation time of the sensor electrode. The NOx sensor is equipped with a solid electrolyte body, a pump electrode working to regulate an oxygen concentration in measurement gas G, and a sensor electrode working to measure the concentration of NOx in the measurement gas G. A metallic component of the sensor electrode is a Pt&#x2014;Rh alloy. The mass ratio of Pt to Rh in the whole of the sensor electrode is Pt:Rh=70:30 to 35:65. The percentage of Rh in the Pt&#x2014;Rh alloy in a surface layer of the sensor electrode is higher than that in the whole of the sensor electrode by an atomic composition percentage of 4 to 10 atom %.

NOx sensor

A method of producing a laminated dielectric element of high quality, free of delamination. A method of producing a laminated dielectric elementby alternately laminating dielectric ceramic layersand base metal electrode layerscomprising the steps of printing electrodes by applying a paste material for the base metal electrodes onto the surfaces of at least one side of the ceramic green sheets, laminating and press-adhering the ceramic green sheets to fabricate a laminate thereof, dewaxing the laminate, reducing the electrodes to form base metal electrode layers by heating the laminate while flowing an atmospheric gas and by reducing the paste material for the base metal electrodes, and sintering the laminate. In the step of reducing the electrodes, the paste material for the base metal electrodes is so reduced that the amount of the base metal oxide remaining in the base metal electrode layers is not larger than 20% by weight and that the amount of lead liberated from the ceramic material is not larger than 30 atomic % within 5000 &#x212b; from the surfaces of the base metal electrode layers.

Method for fabricating laminate-type dielectric element

Growing community of inventors

Okazaki, Japan

Kumi Sawaguchi