Exploring the global publications on varistors using the Scopus database through a bibliometric analysis

The global increase in electrical device consumption has escalated the demand for excellent surge protectors. As a state-of-the-art technology, varistor has received considerable attention due to its outstanding versatility and wide range of applications. Hence, it is crucial to understand the development trend of varistor to expand the collaboration networks and propel its advancement. In this bibliometric article, several procedures were presented and analyzed to determine the global research trend of varistor based on the publication output each year, leading countries, most prolific authors, and co-occurrences of author keywords. After several stages of collecting and refining the textual information from the Scopus database, a total number of 2122 research articles and conference papers were retrieved between 1951 and 2021. Results show that since 1975, the annual number of publications has increased significantly, with 2020 recording the highest value of 1363 articles. China, the United States, South Korea, and Japan contributed around 60% of the total articles published. Moreover, three of the most prolific institutions associated with the research topic were ranked among the top 200 universities globally. The analysis of varistor research progress will provide a common overview of collaborative networks and potential collaborators for a better broadening of knowledge.