Multilayer electronic component

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a multilayer electronic component. The multilayer electronic component includes: a body including a capacitance forming portion including a dielectric layer interposed between the first internal electrode and the second internal electrode, and first and second internal electrodes alternately disposed in a first direction, and a cover portion covering the first internal electrode and the second internal electrode, the covering part is arranged at the upper part and the lower part of the capacitance forming part in the first direction; and an external electrode disposed on the main body, in which the capacitance forming portion includes an outer region adjacent to the cover portion and a central region other than the outer region, and in which the capacitance forming portion includes a first electrode disposed on the main body and a second electrode disposed on the main body. An average thickness of the first internal electrodes included in the outer region is greater than an average thickness of the first internal electrodes included in the central region, and an average thickness of the second internal electrodes included in the outer region is greater than an average thickness of the second internal electrodes included in the central region.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0197242, filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on December 29, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a multi-layer electronic component. Background Art

[0003] A multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC), which is a multi-layer electronic component, is a chip capacitor that is mounted on a printed circuit board of various electronic products (including image display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and plasma display panels (PDPs), computers, smartphones, mobile phones, etc.) and charges or discharges electricity thereto.

[0004] Since a multi-layer ceramic capacitor can have a small size and a high capacitance and can be easily mounted, such a multi-layer ceramic capacitor can be used as a component of various electronic devices. Recently, as electronic devices such as computers and mobile devices have been designed to have a reduced size and high performance, multi-layer ceramic capacitors have also been designed to have a reduced size and high capacitance, and according to this trend, the importance of ensuring high reliability of multi-layer ceramic capacitors has increased. In addition, automotive electronic components require high reliability and high strength characteristics.

[0005] Generally, for a multi-layer ceramic capacitor, a ceramic green sheet having an inner electrode pattern printed thereon may be laminated and pressed, and sintered to form a body. During the pressing process, the deformation stress in the inner electrodes disposed in the outermost region in the lamination direction may increase, such that the inner electrodes disposed in the outermost region in the lamination direction may have deteriorated inner electrode connectivity or a reduced thickness. Therefore, the connectivity between the inner electrodes and the outer electrodes may deteriorate or the warp strength characteristics may deteriorate. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to providing a multi-layer electronic component having improved reliability.

[0007] Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to providing a multi-layer electronic component in which the connectivity between the inner electrodes and the outer electrodes can be excellent.

[0008] Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to providing a multi-layer electronic component having improved capacitance.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a multilayer electronic component includes: a main body including a capacitance forming portion and a covering portion, the capacitance forming portion including a dielectric layer and first inner electrodes and second inner electrodes alternately arranged in a first direction, and the dielectric layer being interposed between the first inner electrodes and the second inner electrodes, the covering portion being disposed on upper and lower portions of the capacitance forming portion in the first direction; and external electrodes disposed on the main body, wherein the capacitance forming portion includes an external region adjacent to the covering portion and a central region other than the external region, and wherein an average thickness of the first inner electrodes included in the external region is greater than an average thickness of the first inner electrodes included in the central region, and an average thickness of the second inner electrodes included in the external region is greater than an average thickness of the second inner electrodes included in the central region.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a multilayer electronic component includes: a capacitance forming portion; and a top covering portion and a bottom covering portion disposed above and below the capacitance forming portion in a stacking direction, the capacitance forming portion including: a topmost inner electrode pair with a dielectric layer disposed between inner electrodes of the topmost inner electrode pair, the topmost inner electrode pair being disposed adjacent to the top covering portion; a lowermost inner electrode pair with a dielectric layer disposed between inner electrodes of the lowermost inner electrode pair, the lowermost inner electrode pair being disposed adjacent to the bottom covering portion; and a central inner electrode pair disposed between the topmost inner electrode pair and the lowermost inner electrode pair, wherein an average thickness of the inner electrodes in the central inner electrode pair is less than an average thickness of the inner electrodes in the topmost inner electrode pair and / or an average thickness of the inner electrodes in the lowermost inner electrode pair. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a multilayer electronic component according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I' in Figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II' in Figure 1 ; Figure 4 is an exploded view showing the main body according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 5 is a view showing the thicknesses of the external region and the central region corresponding to Figure 3 ; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] In the following, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings as follows.

[0013] These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present disclosure. It will be understood that although the various embodiments of the present disclosure are not the same, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, the structures, shapes, and dimensions described as examples in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in another embodiment. In addition, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, the position or arrangement of the elements in the embodiments can be modified. Therefore, the following specific embodiments should not be construed as having a limiting meaning, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined only by the appended claims (properly interpreted) and the full scope of the equivalents to which the claims are entitled.

[0014] In the drawings, the same elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals. In addition, redundant descriptions and detailed descriptions of known functions and elements that may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure will be omitted. In the drawings, some elements may be exaggerated, omitted, or briefly shown, and the dimensions of the elements do not necessarily reflect the actual dimensions of these elements. The terms "comprising", "including", "configured to", etc. in the specification are used to indicate the presence of features, quantities, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof, and do not exclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, quantities, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0015] In the drawings, the first direction may be defined as the thickness direction, the second direction may be defined as the length direction, and the third direction may be defined as the width direction.

[0016] Multi-layer electronic component Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a multi-layer electronic component according to an embodiment.

[0017] Figure 2 is along Figure 1 a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I' in

[0018] Figure 3 is along Figure 1 a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II' in

[0019] Figure 4 is an exploded view showing a main body according to an embodiment.

[0020] Figure 5 is showing Figure 3 a view showing the thickness of the outer region and the central region corresponding to

[0021] In the following, reference will be made to Figures 1 to 5The multi-layer electronic component 100 according to an embodiment will be described in more detail. A multi-layer ceramic capacitor will be described as an example of the multi-layer electronic component, but the embodiment is not limited thereto, and the present disclosure can be applied to various multi-layer electronic components such as inductors, piezoelectric elements, varistors, or thermistors.

[0022] The multi-layer electronic component 100 may include: a main body 110 including a capacitance forming portion Ac and covering portions 112 and 113, the capacitance forming portion Ac including a dielectric layer 111 and first internal electrodes 121 and second internal electrodes 122 alternately arranged in a first direction with the dielectric layer 111 interposed between the first internal electrodes 121 and the second internal electrodes 122, and the covering portions 112 and 113 being arranged on the upper and lower portions of the capacitance forming portion Ac in the first direction; and external electrodes 131 and 132 arranged on the main body 110, wherein the capacitance forming portion Ac includes external regions Ac1 and Ac2 adjacent to the covering portions 112 and 113 and a central region Ac0 other than the external regions, and wherein the average thickness teb of the first internal electrodes included in the external regions is greater than the average thickness tea of the first internal electrodes included in the central region, and the average thickness teb' of the second internal electrodes included in the external regions is greater than the average thickness tea' of the second internal electrodes included in the central region.

[0023] A multi-layer ceramic capacitor can generally be formed by laminating and pressing green ceramic sheets having internal electrode patterns printed thereon and then sintering to form the main body. During the pressing process, the deformation stress in the internal electrodes arranged in the outermost region in the lamination direction increases, such that the internal electrode connectivity of the internal electrodes arranged in the outermost region in the lamination direction may deteriorate or the thickness of the internal electrodes arranged in the outermost region in the lamination direction may decrease, thereby deteriorating the connectivity between the internal electrodes and the external electrodes.

[0024] According to an embodiment, by increasing the thickness of the internal electrodes adjacent to the covering portions, the internal electrode connectivity of the internal electrodes arranged in the outermost region in the lamination direction can be prevented from deteriorating and / or the thickness of the internal electrodes arranged in the outermost region in the lamination direction can be prevented from decreasing, thereby improving the connectivity and warpage strength characteristics between the internal electrodes and the external electrodes.

[0025] Hereinafter, each component included in the multi-layer electronic component 100 according to an embodiment will be described.

[0026] In the main body 110, the dielectric layer 111 and the internal electrodes 121 and 122 may be alternately laminated.

[0027] The shape of the main body 110 may not be limited to any specific shape, but as Figures 1 to 5As shown, the main body 110 may have a hexahedral shape or a shape similar to a hexahedral shape. Due to the shrinkage of the ceramic powder included in the main body 110 during the firing process or the polishing of the corners, the main body 110 may not have an exact hexahedral shape formed by straight lines, but may generally have a hexahedral shape.

[0028] The main body 110 may have a first surface 1 and a second surface 2 that face each other in a first direction, a third surface 3 and a fourth surface 4 that are connected to the first surface 1 and the second surface 2 and face each other in a second direction, and a fifth surface 5 and a sixth surface 6 that are connected to the first surface 1, the second surface 2, the third surface 3, and the fourth surface 4 and face each other in a third direction.

[0029] Since the edge regions of the dielectric layer 111 where the internal electrodes 121 and 122 are not provided overlap in the first direction, a step difference may be formed due to the thickness of the internal electrodes 121 and 122, such that when viewed from the first surface 1 or the second surface 2, the corners connecting the first surface 1 to the third surface 3 to the sixth surface 6 and / or the corners connecting the second surface 2 to the third surface 3 to the sixth surface 6 may have a shape that contracts toward the center of the main body 110 in the first direction. Alternatively, due to the shrinkage behavior during the sintering process of the main body 110, when viewed from the first surface 1 or the second surface 2, the corners connecting the first surface 1 to the third surface 3, the fourth surface 4, the fifth surface 5, and the sixth surface 6 and / or the corners connecting the second surface 2 to the third surface 3, the fourth surface 4, the fifth surface 5, and the sixth surface 6 may have a shape that contracts toward the center of the main body 110 in the first direction. Alternatively, in order to prevent cracking defects, the corners connecting the surfaces of the main body 110 may be rounded by performing a specific process of rounding the corners, such that each of the corners connecting the first surface 1 to the third surface 3 to the sixth surface 6 and / or the corners connecting the second surface 2 to the third surface 3 to the sixth surface 6 may have a rounded shape.

[0030] In order to suppress the step difference caused by the internal electrodes 121 and 122, after lamination, cutting is performed such that the internal electrodes are exposed on the two side surfaces of the capacitance forming portion Ac in the third direction (width direction), and a single dielectric layer or two or more dielectric layers are laminated along the third direction (width direction) on the two side surfaces of the capacitance forming portion Ac to form the edge portions 114 and 115. In this case, the corners connecting the first surface 1 to the fifth surface 5 and the sixth surface 6 and the corners connecting the second surface 2 to the fifth surface 5 and the sixth surface 6 may not have the above-mentioned contracted shape.

[0031] The multiple dielectric layers 111 forming the body 110 may be in a fired state, and adjacent dielectric layers 111 may be integrated with each other such that it is difficult to identify the boundary between them without using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The number of stacked dielectric layers may not be specifically limited, and the number of stacked layers may be determined by considering the size of the multilayer electronic component. For example, the body may be formed by stacking 400 or more layers of dielectric layers.

[0032] The dielectric layer 111 may be formed by: preparing a ceramic slurry including ceramic powder, an organic solvent, an additive, and a binder, preparing a green sheet by coating the ceramic slurry on a carrier film and drying the ceramic slurry, and firing the green sheet. The ceramic powder is not limited to any specific example as long as sufficient electrostatic capacitance can be obtained. For example, barium titanate (BaTiO3)-based dielectric powder and CaZrO3-based dielectric powder may be used as the ceramic powder. The ceramic powder may be one or more of BaTiO3, (Ba 1- x Ca x )TiO3 (0 < x < 1), Ba(Ti 1-y Ca y )O3 (0 < y < 1), (Ba 1-x Ca x )(Ti 1-y Zr y )O3 (0 < x < 1, 0 < y < 1), and Ba(Ti 1- y Zr y )O3 (0 < y < 1).

[0033] The average thickness td of the dielectric layer 111 is not limited to any specific example and may be, for example, 0.1 μm to 10 μm. In addition, the average thickness td of the dielectric layer 111 may be arbitrarily set according to desired characteristics or purposes.

[0034] The average thickness td may represent the average size in the first direction of the dielectric layer 111 disposed between adjacent inner electrodes 121 and 122. The average thickness td of the dielectric layer 111 may be obtained by scanning a cross-section of the body 110 in the first direction and the second direction at a magnification of 10,000 using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). More specifically, the average thickness td of the dielectric layer 111 may be obtained by measuring the thicknesses at multiple points (e.g., 30 points at equal distances) in the second direction of the dielectric layer 111 and averaging them. The 30 points at equal distances may be specified in the capacitance forming portion. In addition, by measuring the average value for 10 dielectric layers 111, the average thickness of the dielectric layer 111 may be made more general.

[0035] In an embodiment, when the average thickness of the dielectric layer included in the central region Ac0 is defined as tda and the average thickness of the dielectric layer included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 is defined as tdb, 0.9 ≤ tdb / tda ≤ 1.1 can be satisfied. That is, unlike the inner electrodes, the average thickness td of the dielectric layer 111 can be substantially the same as the average thickness of the dielectric layer included in the central region Ac0 and the average thickness of the dielectric layer included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2.

[0036] The main body 110 may include a capacitance forming portion Ac and covering portions 112 and 113 formed on the upper and lower portions of the capacitance forming portion Ac in a first direction. The capacitance forming portion Ac is provided in the main body 110 and forms a capacitance by including a first inner electrode 121 and a second inner electrode 122 that face each other with the dielectric layer 111 therebetween.

[0037] In addition, the capacitance forming portion Ac contributes to forming the capacitance of the capacitor and may be formed by repeatedly laminating a plurality of first inner electrodes 121 and a plurality of second inner electrodes 122 with the dielectric layer 111 therebetween.

[0038] The covering portions 112 and 113 may include an upper covering portion 112 provided on the upper portion of the capacitance forming portion Ac in the first direction and a lower covering portion 113 provided on the lower portion of the capacitance forming portion Ac in the first direction.

[0039] The upper covering portion 112 and the lower covering portion 113 may be formed by laminating a single dielectric layer or two or more dielectric layers on the upper surface and the lower surface of the capacitance forming portion Ac in the thickness direction, respectively, and may mainly prevent damage to the inner electrodes due to physical stress and / or chemical stress.

[0040] The upper covering portion 112 and the lower covering portion 113 do not include inner electrodes and may include a material same as that of the dielectric layer 111. That is, the covering portions 112 and 113 may include dielectric layers and do not include the first inner electrode 121 and the second inner electrode 122. In addition, the covering portions 112 and 113 may include dielectric layers and do not include dummy electrodes. That is, according to the embodiment, the warpage strength can be improved by controlling the thickness of the inner electrodes at different positions, rather than by using dummy electrodes, thereby ensuring a higher capacitance compared to when dummy electrodes are provided.

[0041] That is, the upper covering portion 112 and the lower covering portion 113 may include a ceramic material and may include, for example, a barium titanate (BaTiO3)-based ceramic material.

[0042] The thickness of the covering portions 112 and 113 is not limited to any specific example. For example, the average thickness tc of the covering portions 112 and 113 may be 5 μm to 500 μm.

[0043] The average thickness tc of the covering parts 112 and 113 can represent the average dimension in the first direction, and can be the average value of the dimensions of the covering parts 112 and 113 in the first direction measured at five points that are equal distances in the second direction or the third direction at the upper and lower parts of the capacitance forming part Ac.

[0044] In addition, the edge parts 114 and 115 can be provided on the side surfaces of the capacitance forming part Ac.

[0045] The edge parts 114 and 115 can include a first edge part 114 provided on one side surface of the capacitance forming part Ac in the third direction (width direction) and a second edge part 115 provided on the other side surface of the capacitance forming part Ac in the third direction (width direction). That is, the edge parts 114 and 115 can be respectively provided on the two side surfaces of the capacitance forming part Ac in the width direction.

[0046] As Figure 3 shown, the edge parts 114 and 115 can refer to the regions between the two ends of the first inner electrode 121 and the second inner electrode 122 in the width direction and the outer surface of the main body 110 in the width direction-thickness direction cross-section of the main body 110.

[0047] The edge parts 114 and 115 can mainly prevent damage to the inner electrodes caused by physical stress and / or chemical stress.

[0048] The edge parts 114 and 115 can be formed by coating a conductive paste on a region outside the region of the green sheet where the edge parts are to be formed to form the inner electrodes.

[0049] In addition, in order to suppress the step difference caused by the inner electrodes 121 and 122, after lamination, cutting can be performed so that the inner electrodes are exposed on the two side surfaces of the capacitance forming part Ac in the third direction (width direction), and a single dielectric layer or two or more dielectric layers can be laminated on the two side surfaces of the capacitance forming part Ac in the third direction (width direction), thereby forming the edge parts 114 and 115.

[0050] The average width wm of the edge parts 114 and 115 does not need to be limited to any specific example. In order to easily achieve miniaturization and high capacitance of the multilayer electronic component, the average width wm of the edge parts 114 and 115 can be 5 μm to 300 μm.

[0051] The average width wm of the edge portions 114 and 115 may refer to the average dimension in the third direction of the region where the inner electrodes are spaced apart from the fifth surface, the average dimension in the third direction of the region where the inner electrodes are spaced apart from the sixth surface, and the average value of the dimensions in the third direction of the edge portions 114 and 115 measured at five points of equal distance in the first direction or the second direction on the side surface of the capacitance forming portion Ac.

[0052] In an embodiment, the average dimension in the third direction of the region where the inner electrodes 121 and 122 are spaced apart from the fifth surface and the sixth surface may be 5 μm to 300 μm.

[0053] The inner electrodes 121 and 122 may include a first inner electrode 121 and a second inner electrode 122. The first inner electrode 121 and the second inner electrode 122 may be alternately arranged opposite to each other, and the dielectric layer 111 included in the main body 110 is located therebetween, and the first inner electrode 121 and the second inner electrode 122 may be respectively exposed to the third surface 3 and the fourth surface 4 of the main body 110.

[0054] The first inner electrode 121 may be spaced apart from the fourth surface 4 and may be exposed through the third surface 3, and the second inner electrode 122 may be spaced apart from the third surface 3 and may be exposed through the fourth surface 4. The first outer electrode 131 may be provided on the third surface 3 of the main body 110 and may be connected to the first inner electrode 121, and the second outer electrode 132 may be provided on the fourth surface 4 of the main body 110 and may be connected to the second inner electrode 122.

[0055] That is, the first inner electrode 121 may not be connected to the second outer electrode 132 but may be connected to the first outer electrode 131, and the second inner electrode 122 may not be connected to the first outer electrode 131 but may be connected to the second outer electrode 132. Therefore, the first inner electrode 121 may be spaced apart from the fourth surface 4 by a predetermined distance, and the second inner electrode 122 may be spaced apart from the third surface 3 by a predetermined distance. In addition, the first inner electrode 121 and the second inner electrode 122 may be spaced apart from the fifth surface and the sixth surface of the main body 110.

[0056] The conductive metal included in the inner electrodes 121 and 122 may be one or more of Ni, Cu, Pd, Ag, Au, Pt, In, Sn, Al, Ti, and their alloys, but the embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0057] The method of forming the inner electrodes 121 and 122 is not limited to any specific example. For example, the inner electrodes 121 and 122 may be formed by coating a conductive paste (including a conductive metal) for the inner electrodes on a ceramic green sheet and firing the ceramic green sheet. As a method of coating the conductive paste for the inner electrodes, a screen printing method or a gravure printing method may be used, but the embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0058] As another example, the inner electrodes 121 and 122 may be formed using a sputtering method, a vacuum deposition method, and / or a chemical vapor deposition method.

[0059] According to an embodiment, the capacitance forming unit Ac may include outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 adjacent to the covering units 112 and 113 and a central region Ac0 other than the outer regions. The average thickness teb of the first inner electrode 121b included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 may be greater than the average thickness tea of the first inner electrode 121a included in the central region Ac0, and the average thickness teb' of the second inner electrode 122b included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 may be greater than the average thickness tea' of the second inner electrode 122a included in the central region Ac0.

[0060] Since a large amount of deformation stress is applied to the inner electrodes provided in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 during the pressing process, by increasing the thickness of the inner electrodes provided in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2, the deformation resistance of the inner electrodes provided in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 during the pressing process can be increased, and the thermal stability during the sintering process can be improved. Therefore, by preventing the deterioration of the inner electrode connectivity of the inner electrodes provided in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 or the reduction of the thickness of the inner electrodes provided in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2, the connectivity between the inner electrodes and the outer electrodes can be improved. In addition, the warpage strength characteristics can be improved without providing dummy electrodes in the covering unit.

[0061] In addition, the average thickness teb of the first inner electrode 121b included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 may be greater than the average thickness tea' of the second inner electrode 122a included in the central region Ac0, and the average thickness teb' of the second inner electrode 122b included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 may be greater than the average thickness tea of the first inner electrode 121a included in the central region Ac0.

[0062] In an embodiment, when the average thickness of the first inner electrode included in the central region Ac0 is defined as tea and the average thickness of the first inner electrode included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 is defined as teb, 1.6 ≤ teb / tea ≤ 2.0 may be satisfied. Therefore, in the embodiment, the effect of improving the connectivity and warpage strength characteristics between the inner electrodes and the outer electrodes may be significant.

[0063] When teb / tea is less than 1.6, the effect of improving the connectivity and warpage strength characteristics between the inner electrodes and the outer electrodes may be insufficient, and when teb / tea is greater than 2.0, the thickness of the main body may increase excessively and the design stability may deteriorate.

[0064] The values of tea and teb may not need to be specifically limited. For example, tea may be greater than or equal to 300 nm and less than or equal to 937.5 nm, and teb may be greater than or equal to 480 nm and less than or equal to 1500 nm.

[0065] In an embodiment, when the average thickness of the second inner electrode included in the central region Ac0 is defined as tea', and the average thickness of the second inner electrode included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 is defined as teb', 1.6 ≤ teb' / tea' ≤ 2.0 may be satisfied. Accordingly, in the embodiment, the effect of improving the connectivity and warpage strength characteristics between the inner electrode and the outer electrode may be significant.

[0066] When teb' / tea' is less than 1.6, the effect of improving the connectivity and warpage strength characteristics between the inner electrode and the outer electrode may be insufficient, and when teb' / tea' exceeds 2.0, the thickness of the main body may increase excessively, and the design stability may deteriorate.

[0067] tea and tea' may satisfy 0.9 ≤ tea / tea' ≤ 1.1. In addition, teb and teb' may satisfy 0.9 ≤ teb / teb' ≤ 1.1.

[0068] That is, except for manufacturing errors, the first inner electrode 121a and the second inner electrode 122a included in the central region Ac0 may have substantially the same thickness, and except for manufacturing errors, the first inner electrode 121b and the second inner electrode 122b included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 may have substantially the same thickness.

[0069] The average thicknesses tea, teb, tea', and teb' of the inner electrodes may be obtained by scanning cross-sections of the main body 110 in the first direction and the second direction at a magnification of 10,000 using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). More specifically, the average thicknesses tea, teb, tea', and teb' of the inner electrodes may be obtained by measuring the thicknesses at a plurality of points (e.g., 30 points at equal distances) in the second direction of one of the inner electrodes 121 or 122 and averaging them. That is, tea may be a value obtained by selecting one or more of the first inner electrodes 121a provided in the central region Ac0, and tea' may be a value obtained by selecting one or more of the second inner electrodes 122a provided in the central region Ac0. In addition, teb may be a value obtained by selecting one or more of the first inner electrodes 121b provided in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2, and teb' may be a value obtained by selecting one or more of the second inner electrodes 122b provided in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2.

[0070] In an embodiment, the covering parts 112 and 113 may include an upper covering part 112 disposed on the upper part of the capacitance forming part in a first direction and a lower covering part 113 disposed on the lower part of the capacitance forming part in the first direction, and the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 may include an upper outer region Ac1 adjacent to the upper covering part 112 and a lower outer region Ac2 adjacent to the lower covering part 113. The upper outer region Ac1 may include one or more of each of the first inner electrode and the second inner electrode, and the lower outer region Ac2 may include one or more of each of the first inner electrode and the second inner electrode.

[0071] That is, the upper outer region Ac1 may include one or more pairs of inner electrodes 120b having a relatively large thickness, and the lower outer region Ac2 may also include one or more pairs of inner electrodes 120b having a relatively large thickness. Therefore, in the embodiment, the effect of improving the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode and the warpage strength characteristics may be significant. Here, a pair of inner electrodes (inner electrode pair) 120b having a relatively large thickness may represent a pair of first inner electrodes 121b having an average thickness of teb and second inner electrodes 122b having an average thickness of teb'.

[0072] For example, when one or more pairs of inner electrodes 120b having a relatively large thickness are only disposed in the upper outer region Ac1 and one or more pairs of inner electrodes 120b having a relatively large thickness do not exist in the lower outer region Ac2, the deformation stress applied to the inner electrode may be further concentrated on the inner electrode disposed in the lowermost part in the first direction, so that the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode may deteriorate.

[0073] The upper outer region Ac1 and the lower outer region Ac2 may include one or more pairs of inner electrodes 120b having a relatively large thickness, and the central region Ac0 may include one or more pairs of thin inner electrodes 120a.

[0074] In an embodiment, when the sum of the number of the first inner electrode and the second inner electrode included in the central region Ac0 is defined as Na, and the sum of the number of the first inner electrode and the second inner electrode included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 is defined as Nb, Nb / Na may be greater than or equal to 0.04. Therefore, in the embodiment, the effect of improving the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode and the warpage strength characteristics may be significant.

[0075] When Nb / Na is less than 0.04, the effect of improving the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode and the warpage strength characteristics may be insufficient.

[0076] The upper limit of Nb / Na may not be specifically restricted, and Nb / Na may be less than or equal to 25 to prevent excessive increase in the thickness of the multilayer electronic component. When the thickness of the multilayer electronic component increases excessively, the mounting stability may deteriorate when the multilayer electronic component is mounted on the substrate.

[0077] In an embodiment, when the average thickness of the first inner electrode included in the central region Ac0 is defined as tea, and the average thickness of the first inner electrode included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 is defined as teb, 1.8 ≤ teb / tea ≤ 2.0 may be satisfied, and when the sum of the number of the first inner electrode and the second inner electrode included in the central region Ac0 is defined as Na, and the sum of the number of the first inner electrode and the second inner electrode included in the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 is defined as Nb, Nb / Na may be greater than or equal to 0.04 and less than or equal to 2.59. Therefore, the effects of improving the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode and the warpage strength characteristics can be ensured, and the mounting stability can also be ensured.

[0078] In an embodiment, when the sum of the average thicknesses of the outer regions Ac1 and Ac2 in the first direction is defined as tb, and the average thickness of the central region Ac0 in the first direction is defined as ta, tb / ta may be greater than or equal to 0.03. In this case, when the average thickness of the upper outer region Ac1 in the first direction is defined as tb1 and the average thickness of the lower outer region Ac2 in the first direction is defined as tb2, tb = tb1 + tb2.

[0079] In an embodiment, when the average thickness of the upper outer region Ac1 in the first direction is defined as tb1 and the average thickness of the lower outer region Ac2 in the first direction is defined as tb2, 0.9 ≤ tb1 / tb2 ≤ 1.1 may be satisfied. Therefore, the stress applied to the inner electrodes provided in the upper outer region and the lower outer region can be evenly distributed, thereby increasing the effects of improving the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode and the warpage strength characteristics in the embodiment.

[0080] The outer electrodes 131 and 132 may be provided on the main body 110. The outer electrodes 131 and 132 may be respectively provided on the third surface 3 and the fourth surface 4 of the main body 110.

[0081] The outer electrodes 131 and 132 may be respectively provided on the third surface 3 and the fourth surface 4 of the main body 110, and may include a first outer electrode 131 connected to the first inner electrode 121 and a second outer electrode 132 connected to the second inner electrode 122.

[0082] Although the embodiment describes the structure in which the multilayer electronic component 100 has two external electrodes 131 and 132, the number or shape of the external electrodes 131 and 132 may be changed according to the shape of the internal electrodes 121 and 122 or other purposes.

[0083] The external electrodes 131 and 132 may be formed of any material having conductivity (such as a metal), and the specific material may be determined by considering electrical characteristics and structural stability, and the external electrodes 131 and 132 may have a multilayer structure.

[0084] For example, the external electrodes 131 and 132 may include electrode layers 131a and 132a provided on the main body 110 and plating layers 131b and 132b formed on the electrode layers 131a and 132a.

[0085] For more specific examples of the electrode layers 131a and 132a, the electrode layers 131a and 132a may be fired electrodes including a conductive metal and glass, and / or resin-based electrodes including a conductive metal and a resin.

[0086] In addition, for the electrode layers 131a and 132a, a fired electrode and a resin-based electrode may be sequentially formed on the main body. In addition, the electrode layers 131a and 132a may be formed by transferring a sheet including a conductive metal onto the main body, or may be formed by transferring a sheet including a conductive metal onto the fired electrode.

[0087] A material having excellent conductivity may be used as the conductive metal included in the electrode layers 131a and 132a, and is not limited to any specific example. For example, the conductive metal may be one or more of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and their alloys.

[0088] The plating layers 131b and 132b may improve the mounting performance. The type of the plating layers 131b and 132b is not limited to any specific example, and the plating layers 131b and 132b may be a single plating layer including one or more of Ni, Sn, Pd, and their alloys, or may be formed into multiple layers.

[0089] For more specific examples of the plating layers 131b and 132b, the plating layers 131b and 132b may be Ni plating layers or Sn plating layers, or may be in a form in which Ni plating layers and Sn plating layers are sequentially formed on the electrode layers 131a and 132a, or may be in a form in which Sn plating layers, Ni plating layers, and Sn plating layers are sequentially formed on the electrode layers 131a and 132a. In addition, the plating layers 131b and 132b may include multiple Ni plating layers and / or multiple Sn plating layers.

[0090] (Embodiment) Fabricate sample wafers that meet Na (including the number of inner electrodes in the central region of the capacitor formation section), Nb1 (including the number of inner electrodes with a relatively large thickness in the outer region of the capacitor formation section adjacent to the upper covering section), Nb2 (including the number of inner electrodes with a relatively large thickness in the outer region of the capacitor formation section adjacent to the lower covering section), and teb (thickness of the inner electrode with a relatively large thickness) / tea (thickness of the inner electrode with a relatively small thickness) in Table 1 below, and evaluate the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode and the warpage strength as listed in Table 1 below.

[0091] Based on the capacitance of Test No. 4 as the reference value of 100%, when the connectivity is less than 90% of the capacitance of Test No. 4, the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode is expressed as NG, and when the connectivity is greater than or equal to 90% of the capacitance of Test No. 4, the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode is expressed as OK. Among them, NG indicates poor, and OK indicates good.

[0092] For the warpage strength, prepare 30 sample wafers for each test number, mount the sample wafers on the substrate, and when pressing the surface of the substrate opposite to the sample wafer mounting surface to 6 mm (the force application point moves 6 mm), when the number of sample wafers with peeling of the outer electrode from the main body or cracks and fractures in the main body is less than or equal to 5, mark this test number as OK, and when the number of sample wafers with peeling of the outer electrode from the main body or cracks and fractures in the main body is greater than 5, mark this test number as NG.

[0093] [Table 1]

[0094] For Test No. 1, no inner electrode with a relatively large thickness is provided in the outer region of the capacitor formation section adjacent to the lower covering section, and the warpage strength deteriorates.

[0095] For Test No. 2, teb / tea is 1.4, and the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode deteriorates.

[0096] For Test Nos. 3 to 6, inner electrodes with a relatively large thickness are provided in the outer regions of the capacitor formation section adjacent to the upper covering section and the lower covering section, and 0.04 ≤ (Nb1 + Nb2) / Na ≤ 2.59 and 1.6 ≤ teb / tea ≤ 2.0 are satisfied, and the warpage strength and the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode are excellent.

[0097] According to the foregoing embodiments, by increasing the thickness of the inner electrodes in the regions of the capacitor formation section adjacent to the covering section, the reliability of the multilayer electronic component can be improved.

[0098] In addition, the connectivity between the inner electrode and the outer electrode can be improved.

[0099] In addition, the capacitance of the multilayer electronic component can be improved.

[0100] In addition, the warpage strength of the multilayer electronic component can be improved.

[0101] The embodiments do not necessarily limit the scope of the present disclosure to specific embodiment forms. Instead, modifications, equivalents, and alternatives included in the concept and technical scope disclosed in this specification may be adopted. Throughout the specification, like reference numerals are used for like elements.

[0102] In an embodiment, the term "embodiment" does not refer to the same embodiment and may be provided to describe and emphasize the different unique features of each embodiment. The embodiments presented above can be implemented without excluding the possibility of combining the features of other embodiments. For example, unless otherwise stated, even if the features described in an embodiment are not described in another embodiment, the description can be understood as being related to another embodiment.

[0103] Unless having an apparently different meaning in the context, expressions used in the singular cover plural expressions.

[0104] Although the embodiments have been shown and described above, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A multilayer electronic component comprising: A main body, comprising a capacitor forming part and a covering part, wherein the capacitor forming part comprises a dielectric layer and first and second internal electrodes alternately arranged in a first direction, and the dielectric layer is interposed between the first and second internal electrodes, and the covering part is arranged at an upper part and a lower part of the capacitor forming part in the first direction; as well as an outer electrode, disposed on the body, wherein the capacitance forming portion includes an outer region adjacent to the covering portion and a central region excluding the outer region, and wherein an average thickness of the first inner electrode included in the outer region is greater than an average thickness of the first inner electrode included in the central region, and an average thickness of the second inner electrode included in the outer region is greater than an average thickness of the second inner electrode included in the central region.

2. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, wherein When the average thickness of the first internal electrode included in the central region is defined as tea, and the average thickness of the first internal electrode included in the outer region is defined as teb, 1.6≤teb / tea≤2.0 is satisfied.

3. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 2, wherein: TEA is greater than or equal to 300 nm and less than or equal to 937.5 nm, and TEB is greater than or equal to 480 nm and less than or equal to 1500 nm.

4. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, in, The covering portion includes an upper covering portion disposed on an upper portion of the capacitance forming portion in the first direction and a lower covering portion disposed on a lower portion of the capacitance forming portion in the first direction, wherein the outer region comprises an upper outer region adjacent to the upper cover portion and a lower outer region adjacent to the lower cover portion, and wherein the upper outer region includes one or more of each of the first inner electrode and the second inner electrode, and the lower outer region includes one or more of each of the first inner electrode and the second inner electrode.

5. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 2, wherein: When the average thickness of the second internal electrode included in the central region is defined as tea', and the average thickness of the second internal electrode included in the outer region is defined as teb', 1.6≤teb' / tea'≤2.0 is satisfied.

6. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 5, wherein: tea and tea' satisfy 0.9≤tea / tea'≤1.1, and teb and teb' satisfy 0.9≤teb / teb'≤1.

1.

7. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, wherein: When the sum of the numbers of the first and second internal electrodes included in the central region is defined as Na, and the sum of the numbers of the first and second internal electrodes included in the outer region is defined as Nb, Nb / Na is greater than or equal to 0.

04.

8. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, wherein When the sum of the numbers of the first and second internal electrodes included in the central region is defined as Na, and the sum of the numbers of the first and second internal electrodes included in the outer region is defined as Nb, Nb / Na is greater than or equal to 0.04 and less than or equal to 25.

9. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, in, When the average thickness of the first inner electrode included in the central region is defined as tea and the average thickness of the first inner electrode included in the outer region is defined as teb, 1.8≤teb / tea≤2.0 is satisfied, and When the sum of the numbers of the first and second inner electrodes included in the central region is defined as Na and the sum of the numbers of the first and second inner electrodes included in the outer region is defined as Nb, Nb / Na is greater than or equal to 0.04 and less than or equal to 2.

59.

10. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, wherein The cover also includes the dielectric layer and excludes the first and second internal electrodes.

11. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, wherein The covering portion also includes the dielectric layer and does not include a dummy electrode.

12. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, in, The covering portion includes an upper covering portion disposed above the capacitance forming portion in the first direction and a lower covering portion disposed below the capacitance forming portion in the first direction, and the outer region includes an upper outer region adjacent to the upper covering portion and a lower outer region adjacent to the lower covering portion, and When the average thickness of the upper outer region in the first direction is defined as tb1 and the average thickness of the lower outer region in the first direction is defined as tb2, 0.9≤tb1 / tb2≤1.1 is satisfied.

13. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, wherein When the sum of average thicknesses of the outer regions in the first direction is defined as tb and the average thickness of the central region in the first direction is defined as ta, tb / ta is greater than or equal to 0.

03.

14. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, wherein When an average thickness of the dielectric layer included in the central region is defined as tda and an average thickness of the dielectric layer included in the outer region is defined as tdb, 0.9≤tdb / tda≤1.1 is satisfied.

15. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 1, wherein The average thickness of the first internal electrode included in the outer region is greater than the average thickness of the second internal electrode included in the central region, and the average thickness of the second internal electrode included in the outer region is greater than the average thickness of the first internal electrode included in the central region.

16. A multilayer electronic component comprising: a capacitor forming unit; as well as A top covering portion and a bottom covering portion are arranged above and below the capacitor forming portion in a stacking direction, and the capacitor forming portion includes: an uppermost inner electrode pair, a dielectric layer disposed between inner electrodes in the uppermost inner electrode pair, the uppermost inner electrode pair being disposed adjacent to the top covering portion; a lowermost inner electrode pair, a dielectric layer disposed between inner electrodes in the lowermost inner electrode pair, the lowermost inner electrode pair being disposed adjacent to the bottom cover; and a central inner electrode pair, a dielectric layer disposed between inner electrodes in the central inner electrode pair, the central inner electrode pair being disposed between the uppermost inner electrode pair and the lowermost inner electrode pair, Wherein, an average thickness of the internal electrodes in the central internal electrode pair is smaller than an average thickness of the internal electrodes in the uppermost internal electrode pair and / or an average thickness of the internal electrodes in the lowermost internal electrode pair.

17. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 16, wherein: The average thickness of the internal electrodes in the uppermost internal electrode pair and / or the average thickness of the internal electrodes in the lowermost internal electrode pair ranges from 1.6 times to 2.0 times the average thickness of the internal electrodes in the central internal electrode pair.

18. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 16, wherein: The average thickness of the inner electrodes in the central inner electrode pair is the same among the central inner electrode pair.

19. The multilayer electronic component according to claim 16, wherein: The average thickness of the internal electrodes in the uppermost internal electrode pair is the same among the uppermost internal electrode pair, and / or the average thickness of the internal electrodes in the lowermost internal electrode pair is the same among the lowermost internal electrode pair.

20. The multilayer electronic assembly of claim 16, wherein: An average thickness of the dielectric layer disposed between the internal electrodes in the central internal electrode pair is the same as an average thickness of the dielectric layer disposed between the internal electrodes in the uppermost internal electrode pair and / or the lowermost internal electrode pair.

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