Alignment method for multilayer components and manufacturing method for multilayer ceramic electronic components using the alignment method

Abstract

In the present invention, an element component is accommodated in an accommodation member that includes a plurality of recesses which each have a flat bottom surface parallel to the horizontal direction. A lid member is disposed above the accommodation member at a position separated by a prescribed distance from the bottom surface. Magnetic flux lines apply a magnetic field intersecting the bottom surface perpendicularly, and the accommodated element component is rotated about an axis in the longitudinal direction such that an internal electrode layer is parallel to the magnetic flux lines.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for aligning laminated components and a method for manufacturing laminated ceramic electronic components using the alignment method.

Background Art

[0002] An example of the prior art is described in Patent Document 1.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0004] The method for aligning laminated components of the present disclosure includes accommodating a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped laminated component in which a dielectric layer and a ferromagnetic layer are alternately laminated in the recesses of a housing member made of a non-magnetic material and having a plurality of recesses with a flat bottom surface parallel to the horizontal direction, arranging a lid member made of a non-magnetic material above the housing member at a position separated from the bottom surface by a predetermined distance, applying a magnetic field in which magnetic flux lines intersect the bottom surface perpendicularly, and rotating the accommodated laminated component around the longitudinal axis so that the ferromagnetic layer is parallel to the magnetic flux lines.

[0005] The method for manufacturing a laminated ceramic component of the present disclosure includes the above-described method for aligning laminated components, performing a processing treatment on the surface of the laminated components with aligned orientations, and then firing the laminated components.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006]

Figure 1A

Figure 1B

Figure 1C

Figure 1D

Figure 1E

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

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Figure 9

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0007] The object, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become clearer from the following detailed description and the drawings.

[0008] In recent years, with the miniaturization and high functionality of electronic devices, miniaturization of electronic components mounted on electronic devices has been demanded. As an example of such an electronic component, a multilayer ceramic capacitor can be mentioned. For multilayer ceramic capacitors, products with a side length of 1 mm or less have become mainstream.

[0009] In a multilayer ceramic capacitor, in its manufacturing process, there are processing steps such as polishing the end face or side face of the body component, or applying a protective layer or the like. Before this processing step, it is necessary to rotate a plurality of body components to change their orientation so that the surface to be processed faces upward. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an alignment method in which a chip component is housed in a housing space, and a magnet is relatively moved with respect to the chip component so that the chip component is aligned such that the direction of the internal electrode faces a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the housing space. In this alignment method, the magnetization direction of the magnet is set to be 0° or more and less than 90° with respect to the length direction of the chip component.

[0010] In the method described in Patent Document 1, since not all chip components may be aligned by simply moving the magnet once, it is necessary to move the magnet a plurality of times, which requires a long time for alignment. By reducing the moving speed of the magnet, the number of chip components aligned in one move increases and the number of moves can be reduced, but it still requires a long time for alignment. Furthermore, there is a risk that the chip components may be magnetized.

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the alignment method for a multilayer component and the manufacturing method for a multilayer ceramic component of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that hereinafter, a multilayer ceramic capacitor will be described as an example of the multilayer component, but the multilayer component targeted by the present disclosure is not limited to the multilayer ceramic capacitor, and can be applied to various multilayer components having a ferromagnetic layer such as a multilayer piezoelectric element, a multilayer thermistor element, a multilayer chip coil, and a ceramic multilayer substrate.

[0012] First, a multilayer ceramic capacitor, which is an example of a multilayer component, will be described. FIGS. 1A to 1E are perspective views of the multilayer component and the multilayer ceramic capacitor. FIG. 1A shows the green body precursor 12, and FIG. 1B shows the green body component 2. Note that although the green body component after firing has shrunk due to firing, since it has the same structure as the green body component before firing, it can also be said that these are diagrams showing the green body component before and after firing. FIG. 1D is a perspective view showing the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1. The multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 has a green body component 2 and external electrodes 3. As shown in FIG. 1B, the green body component 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The green body component 2 has a plurality of dielectric layers 10 and a plurality of internal electrode layers 5 connected to the external electrodes 3. The external electrodes 3 are disposed on a pair of end faces of the green body component 2 and wrap around to other adjacent faces. The plurality of internal electrode layers 5 extend inward from a pair of end faces of the green body component 2 and are alternately laminated without contacting each other. The internal electrode layer 5 is, for example, a ferromagnetic layer made of a ferromagnetic metal material.

[0013] The external electrode 3 is composed of a base layer connected to the green body component 2 and a plating outer layer that facilitates soldering of the external wiring to the external electrode 3. The base layer may be applied and baked on the green body component 2 after firing. The base layer may be disposed on the green body component 2 before firing and fired simultaneously with the green body component 2. The base layer and the plating outer layer may be multiple layers according to the required functions. The external electrode 3 may be composed of a base layer and a conductive resin layer without a plating outer layer.

[0014] The green body component 2 is obtained by adding a protective layer 6 to the green body precursor 12 shown in FIG. 1A. The green body precursor 12 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The green body precursor 12 has main faces 7 facing each other, end faces 8 facing each other, and side faces 9 facing each other. In the green body component 2, the long side direction of the main face 7 is the longitudinal direction.

[0015] On the end face 8 and the side face 9 of the green body precursor 12, the internal electrode layer 5 is exposed. The protective layer 6 is disposed on the side face 9 of the green body precursor 12. The protective layer 6 suppresses the electrical short circuit between the internal electrode layer 5 exposed on one end face 8 and the internal electrode layer 5 exposed on the other end face 8. Further, the protective layer 6 physically protects the portion of the internal electrode layer 5 that is exposed on the side face 9 of the green body precursor 12. The protective layer 6 is attached last in manufacturing the body component 2. The protective layer 6 may be made of a ceramic material. In this case, the protective layer 6 can be made to have insulation and high mechanical strength. The ceramic material that becomes the protective layer 6 is usually disposed on the green body precursor 12 before firing. In FIG. 1B, the boundary between the green body precursor 12 and the protective layer 6 is indicated by a two-dot chain line, but the actual boundary does not clearly appear.

[0016] FIG. 1C is a perspective view showing a body component 2 of another example. A part of the internal electrode layer 5 is exposed on the surface of the protective layer 6. FIG. 1E is a perspective view showing a multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 of another example. External electrodes 3 are further disposed to connect to the internal electrode layer 5 exposed on the end face 8 and the side face 9. For the attachment of these external electrodes 3, machining is performed with the machining target surfaces aligned in the same direction. Also, the external electrodes 3 may be attached to the green body component 2 before firing, or may be attached to the fired body component 2.

[0017] In the above, in addition to the body component 2, the green body precursor 12 which is its precursor has also been described, but in the present disclosure, the "laminated component" includes both the body component 2 and the green body precursor 12.

[0018] In the method for aligning the laminated component of the present embodiment described below, in order to apply a magnetic field to the internal electrode layer 5, it is necessary to increase the magnetic susceptibility of the internal electrode layer 5. When the body component 2 or the green body precursor 12 is before firing, since the nickel particles of the internal electrode layer 5 are surrounded by an organic binder, most of them are not in contact with each other. In order to increase the magnetic susceptibility of the internal electrode layer 5, for example, the content of the organic binder may be 1.5 times or less of the nickel particles which are ferromagnetic metal materials in terms of volume ratio.

[0019] Figure 2 is a plan view of the housing member 14. In the alignment method of the stacked components of the present embodiment, a magnetic field is applied to the blank component (stacked component) 2 housed in the recess 15 of the housing member 14, and the blank component 2 is rotated to change the orientation of the blank component 2 to a desired orientation. The housing member 14 is made of a non-magnetic material and includes a plurality of recesses 15 having a bottom surface 17 that is parallel and flat in the horizontal direction. In the present embodiment, one blank component 2 is housed in one recess 15. When the blank component 2 is put into the recess 15 without intentionally aligning the orientation of the blank component 2, the orientations of the blank component 2 will naturally vary without being aligned. Here, as described above, the blank component 2 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the recess 15 that houses the blank component 2 also has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The opening of the recess 15 is rectangular, with the long side dimension (length dimension) being a and the short side dimension (width dimension) being b. If the longitudinal dimension of the blank component 2 is L, then if the relationship is b < L < a, the blank component 2 is housed such that its longitudinal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the recess 15.

[0020] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the recesses 15 are arranged in a matrix in plan view, but it is not limited thereto. In the alignment method of the present embodiment, the relative movement direction between the housing member 14 and the magnet that generates the magnetic field is not limited, so there is no limitation on the arrangement of the recesses 15, and the degree of freedom of arrangement is high. The opening shape of the recess 15 is not limited to a rectangular shape, and it may be a drum shape or the like. In this case, the side surface 16 of the recess 15 is a curved surface.

[0021] The example of FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the recess 15 in which the blank component 2 of FIG. 1C is housed. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in which the longitudinal direction of the recess 15 and the longitudinal direction of the blank component 2 are parallel and orthogonal to these longitudinal directions. Let the diagonal length of the cross-section 8a be d. The width dimension b of the recess 15 is longer than the diagonal length d of the end surface 8 of the blank component 2. Thereby, the blank component 2 housed in the recess 15 is allowed to rotate about the axis in its longitudinal direction. When the corners of the blank component 2 are chamfered in an R shape, the diagonal length d of the cross-section 8a of the blank component 2 is the maximum length in the diagonal direction of the cross-section 8a. Further, the height of the side surface 16 of the recess 15 (the depth of the recess 15) may be, for example, longer than the diagonal length d of the cross-section 8a of the blank component 2.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, the lid member 18 is disposed above the housing member 14 at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the bottom surface 17 of the recess 15. By using the lid member 18, it becomes easier to handle the housing member 14 in which the base component 2 is housed, and it is possible to reduce the possibility that the base component 2 jumps out of the recess 15 and the possibility that the base component 2 stands up within the recess 15 when a magnetic field is applied. There may be a gap between the lid member 18 and the housing member 14, or the lid member 18 may be in contact with the housing member 14. The lid member 18 of the present embodiment is, for example, flat. The length from the bottom surface 17 of the recess 15 to the lid member 18 is longer than the diagonal length d of the cross section 8a of the base component 2 and shorter than the length L of the base component 2. The lid member 18 is not limited to a flat plate shape and may have a recess facing the recess 15 of the housing member 14.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the alignment method of the present embodiment. The alignment method of the present embodiment is performed by positioning the base component 2 housed in the housing member 14 in a magnetic field region having a preset appropriate magnetic force. Two magnets are arranged so that different magnetic poles face each other. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the lower surface side of the second magnet 19 located above is the S pole, and the upper surface side of the first magnet 19 located below is the N pole. With such an arrangement of the first and second magnets 19, a magnetic field is generated in which the magnetic flux lines 20 extend from the lower N pole to the upper S pole. By using two magnets, parallel magnetic flux lines 20 can be generated over a wide range.

[0024] In advance, each recess 15 of the housing member 14 houses the base body component 2, and the housing member 14 is covered with the lid member 18. As described above, due to the relationship between the opening dimensions of the base body component 2 and the recess 15, the base body component 2 is always housed such that its longitudinal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the recess 15. However, if the base body component 2 is randomly housed in the recess 15, the base body component 2 will be in either a state where the side surface 9 of the base body component 2 is parallel to the bottom surface 17 of the recess 15 (the first state) or a state where the main surface 7 is parallel to the bottom surface 17 (the second state). In the example shown in FIG. 4, 3 out of the 5 base body components 2 are in the first state, and the remaining 2 are in the second state. Here, for the base body component 2, processing is often performed on the side surface 9, and it is necessary to align the orientations so that all the base body components 2 are in the first state.

[0025] The housing member 14 containing the base body component 2 and the lid member 18 are moved to an intermediate position between the two magnets 19. When such a magnetic field acts on the base body component 2, the base body component 2 housed in the recess 15 rotates around the axis in the longitudinal direction so that the plane direction of the internal electrode layer 5 is parallel to the magnetic flux lines 20. As a result, the base body component 2 in the second state within the recess 15 becomes the first state by rotation, and the base body component 2 in the first state remains in the first state, so that the orientations of all the base body components 2 can be aligned.

[0026] When a magnetic field as in this embodiment acts on the base body component 2, the base body component 2 rotates promptly, so that the time required for aligning the base body component 2 is shortened compared to the prior art. Also, it is only necessary for the magnetic flux lines 20 to intersect perpendicularly with the bottom surface 17 of the recess 15 of the housing member 14, and the moving direction and moving speed of the housing member 14 and the lid member 18 are not limited, so that the base body component 2 can be easily aligned.

[0027] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the positions of the housing member 14 and the lid member 18 are set at the intermediate position between the two magnets 19. However, the intermediate position is the position where the effect of the magnetic field is the smallest. Therefore, by setting the position to the intermediate position, magnetization of the base component 2 can be suppressed. On the other hand, when aligning larger or heavier base components 2, since the effect of the magnetic field is weak at the intermediate position, there is a possibility that some of the base components 2 may remain in the second state without becoming the first state. By bringing the positions of the housing member 14 and the lid member 18 closer to one of the two magnets 19, the effect of the magnetic field becomes stronger, and the base component 2 can be aligned more reliably. In this case, for example, first, the housing member 14 and the lid member 18 are moved to the intermediate position, and then they are brought closer to the lower first magnet 19 or the upper second magnet 19. It is even better to bring them closer to the position with a 100% direction alignment rate with respect to the magnet 19 at that time.

[0028] If a magnet 19 with a strong magnetic force is used, it becomes easier to align the base component 2 regardless of the size or weight of the base component 2, but the possibility of the base component 2 being magnetized increases. As described above, by performing a two-stage movement of moving to the central position first and then moving closer to the magnet 19, it is possible to reliably align the base component 2 while suppressing the residual magnetization of the base component 2. Furthermore, as described above, if the position with a 100% direction alignment rate is known with the minimum magnetic force, it is possible to reliably align the base component 2 while suppressing the residual magnetization of the base component 2. Also, when taking out after direction alignment in the magnetic field, if it is moved to a region where the base component does not reverse within the vertical magnetic field range and then taken out, it can be taken out while maintaining the direction-aligned state. When the first and second magnets 19 are electromagnets, it may be taken out after turning off the switch.

[0029] The magnetic field used in the alignment method in the prior art (Fig. 5) and the magnetic field used in the alignment method of this embodiment (Fig. 6) will be described using the green body precursor 12. In the conventional magnetic field, the magnetic flux lines 20 are parallel (or intersect at a predetermined angle) to the longitudinal direction of the green body precursor 12. In other words, the magnetization direction, which is the direction of the magnetic flux lines 20, is parallel to the bottom surface 17 of the concave portion 15 of the housing member 14. By relatively moving each magnet 19 and the green body component 2, the green body precursor 12 rotates as the green body component 2 crosses such a magnetic field. In contrast, in this embodiment, since the magnetic flux lines 20 intersect perpendicularly to the bottom surface 17 of the concave portion 15, the green body precursor 12 rotates promptly as long as the magnetic field acts regardless of the direction of the relative movement between the green body precursor 12 and each magnet 19.

[0030] Fig. 7 shows another embodiment, and schematically shows a state in which alignment is performed using the region of the vertical magnetic field created by a plate-type single magnet 19 having opposite poles on both planes. The housing member 14 and the lid member 18 in which the green body components 2 are accommodated are inserted from above the region of the vertical magnetic flux lines 20 to a position where all the green body components 2 are aligned in direction. Then, it is moved upward in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface 17 of the concave portion 15, and after moving to a region where the green body components 2 do not invert within the vertical magnetic field range and then taken out, it can be taken out while remaining in the aligned state. As shown in Fig. 7, when a vertical magnetic field source is installed only below the housing member 14, in addition to simplifying the system of the alignment mechanism, it becomes possible to install a camera and sensors in the upper space, so that the alignment state during alignment can be checked. It is moved upward to a position where the magnetic force does not affect the green body components 2 and then taken out.

[0031] Incidentally, while inserting the housing member 14 containing the base components 2 and the lid member 18 from above the region of the vertical magnetic flux lines 20 to the position where all the base components 2 are directionally aligned, the housing member 14 and the lid member 18 may be vibrated vertically. By vibrating vertically, the force by which the base components 2 are attracted in the magnetic force direction changes, and at the next moment when it rises and is farthest from the magnet surface and the magnetic force becomes weakest, a state where the base components 2 seem to float is instantaneously created by the sudden falling movement, so that the rotation of the base components 2 is performed more smoothly.

[0032] FIG. 8 shows another embodiment, and schematically shows a state in which a plurality of long bar-shaped magnets 19 extending from the front to the back toward the paper surface are directionally aligned using the region of the vertical magnetic field emitted from the collective magnet surface with a plurality of opposite poles arranged on the upper surface (FIG. 8 shows two magnets). While applying vertical vibration or vibration in a direction crossing the gap between the magnets 19 to the housing member 14 and the lid member 18 containing the base components 2, insert from directly above the vertical of the collective magnet surface, and stop the vibration when all of the base components 2 are aligned. After that, contrary to the insertion, move upward to a position where the magnetic force does not affect the base components 2 and take them out. By arranging a plurality of bar-shaped magnets 19 side by side, a large-area vertical magnetic interface can be obtained, so that a low-cost and highly productive process becomes possible. Also, since it is a collective magnet surface, its overall shape can be freely changed by rearranging the plurality of bar-shaped magnets 19.

[0033] Regarding the vertical vibration, it is as described in the explanation of FIG. 7. However, the reason for applying the horizontal vibration in FIG. 8 is to cancel the influence of the variation in the vertical magnetic flux distribution on the collective magnet surface. Therefore, it is not necessary to have a short vibration period, but the amplitude may be appropriately set in consideration of the arrangement of the collective magnet surface and the base components 2 in the housing member 14. Also, the vibration may start at the same time as the start of insertion of the housing member 14 or during the insertion. If the insertion position where all of the base components 2 are aligned is known in advance, the vibration may be started after inserting to that position.

[0034] Also, in Fig. 8, bar magnets are arranged. In that case, for the reasons described above, the vibration direction may be imparted with horizontal plane X-Y direction vibration so as to cross the gap between the magnets 19. Further, in Fig. 8, the opposite poles of the individual magnets 19 are arranged in the vertical direction. However, even if the opposite poles are arranged in the horizontal direction, magnetic flux lines of the vertical component also emerge from the collective magnet surface, and the base component 2 can be aligned with the vertical magnetic field component. The plurality of magnets 19 may be arranged on a flat plate or the like with the individual magnets 19 flush, or may be fixed with resin or the like to form an integrated magnet plate.

[0035] The magnetic field used in this embodiment may have the magnetic flux lines 20 facing upward as in the example shown in Fig. 4, or may face downward. As the magnet 19, two magnets having S poles and N poles on each surface may be used, or a magnet in which the upper and lower magnets 19 are connected together may be used. Further, a plurality of magnets 19 with aligned magnetic poles integrated may be used, or a ferromagnetic material may be arranged in contact with both ends of the magnet 19. In order to generate a magnetic field over a larger area, the magnetic pole surfaces of the plurality of magnets 19 may be aligned to magnetize a ferromagnetic plate.

[0036] As the magnet 19, for example, a neodymium magnet or the like may be used. As the magnet 19, an electromagnet may be used. By using an electromagnet, the time for the magnetic field to act on the base component 2 can be shortened, and magnetization can be suppressed. For example, the magnet 19 in a state where no magnetic field is generated (power off), the housing member 14 in which the base component 2 is housed, and the lid member 18 are arranged so as to have a predetermined positional relationship, and a current is supplied to the magnet 19 which is an electromagnet (power on) to generate a magnetic field. When the magnetic field is generated, the housed base component 2 rotates and aligns quickly, so the electromagnet may be turned off. Furthermore, when aligning different types of base components 2, the strength of the magnetic field generated can be controlled by controlling the supplied current.

[0037] In other embodiments, vibrations are applied to the base component 2. When the action of the magnetic field is weak, sufficient energy cannot be supplied for the rotation of the base component 2, and there is a possibility that the orientations of the base components 2 may not be aligned. If the magnetic field is strengthened, rotation becomes possible, but as described above, there is a high possibility that the base component 2 will be magnetized residually due to the strong magnetic field. By applying vibrations to the base component 2, the shortage of energy required for the rotation of the base component 2 can be compensated. Further, by applying vibrations to the base component 2, the magnetic force required for a 100% direction alignment rate can be further reduced. Therefore, residual magnetization can be suppressed. By applying vibrations to the housing member 14, vibrations can be indirectly applied to the base component 2. The vibration direction may be the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, or a combination thereof.

[0038] As the materials constituting the housing member 14 and the lid member 18, non-magnetic materials can be used, for example, metals such as aluminum, copper, zinc, or stainless steel SUS305, or resin materials such as bakelite. The housing member 14 and the lid member 18 may be configured by dividing them into two or a plurality of bodies, namely, a portion constituting the side surface 16 of the recess 15 and a portion constituting the bottom surface 17. In that case, as the material of the portion constituting the bottom surface 17 and the material of the lid member 18, materials other than non-magnetic materials can be used. As the material other than the non-magnetic material, for example, a soft magnetic material having a high magnetic permeability and a low retention rate is desirable, and for example, silicon iron, permalloy, or SUS410 of ferritic stainless steel can be used.

[0039] FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing another embodiment in which the housing member 14 is composed of two bodies. The housing member 14 may be configured to be dividable into a side wall member 14a having a plurality of through holes with a rectangular cross section and a flat bottom wall member 14b. The inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the side wall member 14a becomes the side surface 16 of the recess 15, and the surface of the bottom wall member 14b becomes the bottom surface 17 of the recess 15. The side wall member 14a is made of a non-magnetic material, and the bottom wall member 14b is made of a soft magnetic material.

[0040] After aligning and arranging the orientation of the base components 2 in the first state, when the housing member 14 is moved, if vibration is applied, a part of the base components 2 with aligned orientations may rotate due to the vibration. In this embodiment, after aligning the base components 2, when moving the housing member 14, for example, a magnet 21 is brought into contact with the bottom wall member 14b of the soft magnetic material. As a result, since the base components 2 are magnetically attracted to the bottom wall member 14b, the orientation of the aligned base components 2 can be maintained in the first state, and the housing member 14 can be moved. After moving the housing member 14, the magnet 21 is removed from the bottom wall member 14b. The bottom wall member 14b of the soft magnetic material is magnetized while the magnet 21 is in contact, but demagnetizes when the magnet 21 is removed.

[0041] The entire lid member 18 may be made of a material having flexibility and softness, and the lower surface side, that is, the surface side facing the housing member 14, may be an adhesive surface having adhesiveness. After aligning and arranging the orientation of the base components 2 in the first state, when an external force is applied downward to the lid member 18, the base components 2 are attached to the adhesive surface of the lid member 18. In subsequent steps, the housing member 14 becomes unnecessary, and the lid member 18 to which the base components 2 are attached may be used.

[0042] Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the base components 2 and the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 will be described. This manufacturing method includes the above-described alignment method.

[0043] First, a ceramic mixed powder obtained by adding an additive to BaTiO3, which is a ceramic dielectric material, is wet pulverized and mixed with a bead mill. A polyvinyl butyral-based binder, a plasticizer, and an organic solvent are added to and mixed with this pulverized and mixed slurry to produce a ceramic slurry.

[0044] Next, using a die coater, a ceramic green sheet is formed on a carrier film. The thickness of the ceramic green sheet may be, for example, about 1 to 10 μm. The thinner the thickness of the ceramic green sheet, the higher the capacitance of the multilayer ceramic capacitor can be. The formation of the ceramic green sheet is not limited to a die coater, and for example, it may be performed using a doctor blade coater or a gravure coater, etc.

[0045] Next, on the ceramic green sheet created above, using the screen printing method, a conductive paste containing nickel (Ni), which is a ferromagnetic metal material to be an internal electrode layer, is printed in a predetermined pattern. The printing of the conductive paste is not limited to the screen printing method, and for example, it may be performed using a gravure printing method, etc. The conductive paste may contain, for example, metals such as Pd, Cu, Ag, etc., or alloys thereof in addition to Ni.

[0046] After printing, the conductive paste is dried. Since mainly the solvent component volatilizes by drying, the internal electrode layer after drying is in a state where nickel particles are dispersed in an organic binder. As long as the characteristics as a capacitor can be ensured, the thinner the thickness of the internal electrode layer, the more internal defects due to internal stress can be prevented. For a capacitor with a high number of stacked layers, the thickness of the internal electrode layer may be, for example, 2.0 μm or less.

[0047] Next, on top of a predetermined number of stacked ceramic green sheets, a predetermined number of ceramic green sheets with an internal electrode layer printed thereon are stacked, and further, a predetermined number of ceramic green sheets are stacked. The ceramic green sheets with an internal electrode layer printed thereon are stacked in a predetermined number while shifting the pattern of the internal electrode layer.

[0048] Next, a laminate formed by laminating a plurality of ceramic green sheets is pressed in the lamination direction to obtain a mother laminate. The pressing of the laminate can be performed using, for example, a hydrostatic press. Inside the mother laminate, internal electrode layers are embedded in layers with ceramic green sheets interposed therebetween. When the mother laminate is cut vertically and horizontally, it becomes the green body precursor 12 shown in FIG. 1A.

[0049] Next, the green body precursor 12 or the green body component 2 is aligned by the above-described alignment method, and necessary processing is performed on the side surface 9 of each green body component 2. The processing may be a process of forming a protective layer 6 on the green body precursor 12, or may be a process of polishing the green body component 2.

[0050] After firing the green body component 2 obtained in this way, an external electrode 3 is formed to manufacture the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1. The firing temperature can be appropriately set according to the metal material and the like contained in the conductive paste that becomes the dielectric layer 10 and the internal electrode layer 5. The firing temperature may be, for example, 1100 to 1250 °C.

[0051] The following embodiments are possible for the present disclosure.

[0052] The alignment method of the laminated component of the present disclosure is made of a non-magnetic material, and a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped laminated component in which a dielectric layer and a ferromagnetic layer are alternately laminated is accommodated in the recesses of a housing member including a plurality of recesses having a bottom surface that is parallel and flat in the horizontal direction. A lid member made of a non-magnetic material is disposed above the housing member at a position separated from the bottom surface by a predetermined distance. A magnetic field in which magnetic flux lines intersect the bottom surface perpendicularly is applied, and the accommodated laminated component is rotated around the longitudinal axis so that the ferromagnetic layer is parallel to the magnetic flux lines.

[0053] The manufacturing method of the multilayer ceramic component of the present disclosure includes the above-described alignment method of the laminated component. After performing processing on the surface of the aligned laminated components, the laminated components are fired.

[0054] According to the method for aligning laminated components of the present disclosure, the residual magnetization of the laminated components can be suppressed, and the laminated components can be quickly rotated to change their orientation.

[0055] According to the method for manufacturing laminated ceramic components of the present disclosure, laminated ceramic components can be manufactured quickly.

[0056] As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and improvements can be made without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. Needless to say, all or part of each of the above embodiments can be combined as appropriate within a non-contradictory range.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0057] 1 Multilayer ceramic capacitor 2 Body component 3 External electrode 5 Internal electrode layer 6 Protective layer 7 Main surface 8 End face 8a Cross section 9 Side surface 10 Dielectric layer 12 Body precursor 14 Housing member 14a Side wall member 14b Bottom wall member 15 Recess 16 Side surface 17 Bottom surface 18 Cover member 19 Magnet 21 Magnet 20 Magnetic flux line

Claims

1. accommodating a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped stacked component in which a dielectric layer and a ferromagnetic layer are alternately stacked, in the recesses of a housing member including a plurality of recesses having a horizontal and parallel and flat bottom surface; placing a lid member above the housing member at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the bottom surface; a method for aligning a stacked component, comprising: applying a magnetic field in which magnetic flux lines intersect the bottom surface perpendicularly, and rotating the accommodated stacked component around an axis in the longitudinal direction so that the ferromagnetic layer is parallel to the magnetic flux lines; when rotating the stacked component around the axis, preparing a magnet in which magnetic flux lines are vertically distributed from the magnet surface; a method for aligning a stacked component, comprising: moving the housing member and the lid member in the vertical direction from a position where the magnetic force is weak and separated from the magnet surface, and rotating the stacked component at a position where the action by the magnetic field becomes strong.

2. Accommodating a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped stacked component in which a dielectric layer and a ferromagnetic layer are alternately stacked, in the recesses of a housing member including a plurality of recesses having a horizontal and parallel and flat bottom surface; placing a lid member above the housing member at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the bottom surface; a method for aligning a stacked component, comprising: applying a magnetic field in which magnetic flux lines intersect the bottom surface perpendicularly, and rotating the accommodated stacked component around an axis in the longitudinal direction so that the ferromagnetic layer is parallel to the magnetic flux lines; when rotating the stacked component around the axis, generating the magnetic field by a first magnet and a second magnet located above the first magnet; a method for aligning a stacked component, comprising: moving the housing member and the lid member in the horizontal direction to a position intermediate the first magnet and the second magnet, and then moving them in the vertical direction to approach the first magnet or the second magnet.

3. Accommodating a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped stacked component in which a dielectric layer and a ferromagnetic layer are alternately stacked, in the recesses of a housing member including a plurality of recesses having a horizontal and parallel and flat bottom surface; placing a lid member above the housing member at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the bottom surface; a method for aligning a stacked component, comprising: applying a magnetic field in which magnetic flux lines intersect the bottom surface perpendicularly, and rotating the accommodated stacked component around an axis in the longitudinal direction so that the ferromagnetic layer is parallel to the magnetic flux lines; the perpendicularly intersecting magnetic field is a magnetic flux component distributed vertically from a collective magnet surface in which a plurality of magnets are aligned at intervals flush with each other; The collective magnet surface is located below the housing member and faces the housing member. A method for aligning stacked components, wherein the plurality of magnets are each arranged with their opposite poles in the vertical direction. **Claim 4** The method for aligning stacked components according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein vibration is applied to the housed stacked components. **Claim 5** The method for aligning stacked components according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the housed stacked components are positioned in a magnetic field region having a preset magnetic force. **Claim 6** The recess has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The length in the width direction of the bottom surface and the length from the bottom surface to the lid member are longer than the diagonal length of a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the stacked component and shorter than the length in the longitudinal direction of the stacked component. The method for aligning stacked components according to any one of claims 1 to 3. **Claim 7** Including the method for aligning stacked components according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A method for manufacturing a stacked ceramic component, wherein after performing a processing treatment on the surface of the stacked components with aligned orientations, the stacked components are fired.

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