A terminal to, most commonly, a
ceramic capacitor, most commonly a multilayer
ceramic capacitor (MLCC), is formed by
electroless plating, also known as
electroless deposition or simply as electrodeposition. In the MLCC having a multiple parallel interior plates brought to, and exposed at, at least one, first, surface, an electrically-conductive first-
metal layer, preferably Cu, is electrolessly deposited upon this first surface directly in contact with, mechanically connected to, and electrically connected to, the edges of these interior plates. Lateral growth of the electrolessly-deposited first-
metal is sufficient to span from exposed plate to exposed plate, electrically connecting the plates. One or more top
layers, preferably one of Ni and one of Sn and Pb, are deposited, preferably by plating and more preferably by electrolytic plating, on top of the electrolessly-deposited Cu.