Manufacturing method of electronic components

Abstract

To provide a manufacturing method for an electronic component, which can align an electronic component body and efficiently form an external electrode.SOLUTION: A manufacturing method for an electronic component includes the steps of preparing a transfer jig 11 having a plurality of recesses 12, transferring an electronic component body 2 into the recesses 12, picking up the electronic component body 2 from the recesses 12, and holding the picked-up electronic component body 2 with an adhesive holding member 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electronic component. [Background technology]

[0002] Chip-type electronic components, such as ceramic capacitors, have traditionally been used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and portable music players. These electronic components generally include a rectangular parallelepiped electronic component body having internal electrodes and external electrodes that are connected to the internal electrodes and extend to the surface of the electronic component body.

[0003] The external electrodes are formed by applying a conductive paste to the surface of the electronic component body and firing it, but in order to apply the conductive paste efficiently, the electronic component body is aligned using, for example, a transfer jig (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] The inserting jig has a plurality of recesses of a predetermined size arranged regularly on its surface, into which the electronic component elements can fit, and the arrangement of the electronic component elements is complete when the electronic component elements are inserted into all of the recesses. The larger the recesses are than the electronic component elements, the easier it is for the electronic component elements to fit into the recesses, and the shorter the time required to arrange the electronic component elements can be.

[0005] However, if the recess is large, the position of the electronic component element within the recess cannot be determined, resulting in variation in the arrangement of the electronic component element and increasing the error in the position where the conductive paste is applied.On the other hand, if the recess is small, variation in the arrangement of the electronic component element can be reduced, but it takes time to remove the electronic component element, making it difficult to manufacture electronic components efficiently.

[0006] Therefore, there is a demand for a method of manufacturing electronic components that can align electronic component bodies and efficiently form external electrodes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-253077 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an electronic component that can align electronic component bodies and efficiently form external electrodes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The inventors discovered that by picking up electronic component elements that have been placed in a placing jig and holding them with an adhesive holding member, the electronic component elements can be aligned efficiently and accurately, and this led to the completion of the present invention.

[0010] That is, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a transfer jig having a plurality of recesses, a step of inserting an electronic component element into the recess; picking up the electronic component element from the recess; a step of holding the picked-up electronic component element with an adhesive holding member; The method for manufacturing an electronic component includes the steps of: [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method for manufacturing an electronic component that can efficiently and accurately align electronic component elements to form external electrodes. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is an external view of a multilayer ceramic capacitor (first embodiment). [Figure 2] 1 is an exploded view showing the structure of a laminate of a multilayer ceramic capacitor (first embodiment). [Figure 3]FIG. 2 is an external view of a multilayer ceramic capacitor (second embodiment). [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a multilayer ceramic capacitor (second embodiment). [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the structure of an inner layer portion of the multilayer ceramic capacitor (second embodiment). [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an alignment process performed by the alignment device. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a coating process using a coating device. [Figure 8] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the method for manufacturing an electronic component according to the present invention will be described.

[0014] It should be noted that the embodiments are merely illustrative of the embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the contents of the embodiments. Furthermore, it is possible to combine the contents described in different embodiments, and such implementations are also included in the present invention. Furthermore, the drawings are intended to facilitate understanding of the specification and may be drawn schematically, and the dimensional ratios of the depicted components or between the components may not match the dimensional ratios of those components described in the specification. Furthermore, components described in the specification may be omitted in the drawings, or the number of components may be omitted.

[0015] (electronic parts) Although the electronic component will be described by taking a multilayer ceramic capacitor as an example, this does not mean that the electronic component manufactured by the present invention is limited to a multilayer ceramic capacitor.

[0016] (Multilayer ceramic capacitor 1) A multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 (first embodiment) is shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 1B. Fig. 1 is an external view of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a laminate 2. As will be explained below, the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 differs from a multilayer ceramic capacitor 10 (second embodiment) described later in the shape of the internal electrode layers and the shape and arrangement of the external electrodes.

[0017] The structure of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 will be described using the direction in which the dielectric layers 5 and the internal electrode layers 6 are stacked as a stacking direction T, a length direction L perpendicular to the stacking direction T, and a width direction W perpendicular to the stacking direction T and the length direction L. In the embodiment, the width direction W, the length direction L, and the stacking direction T are perpendicular to one another, but they are not necessarily perpendicular to one another and may intersect one another.

[0018] The multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 has a first side surface WS1 and a second side surface WS2 facing each other, and a first main surface TS1 and a second main surface TS2 adjacent to the end surfaces. The first external electrode 4a has a generally U-shaped cross section and is composed of a first electrode portion 4a1 covering the first side surface WS1, a second electrode portion 4a2 extending onto the first main surface TS1, and a third electrode portion 4a3 extending onto the second main surface TS2. The second external electrode 4b has a generally U-shaped cross section and is composed of a first electrode portion 4b1 covering the second side surface WS2, a second electrode portion extending onto the first main surface TS1, and a third electrode portion 4b3 extending onto the second main surface TS2. Note that on the first main surface TS1, the second electrode portion 4a2 of the first external electrode 4a and the second electrode portion 4b2 of the second external electrode 4b are not connected. Furthermore, on the second main surface TS2, the third electrode portion 4a3 of the first external electrode 4a and the third electrode portion 4b3 of the second external electrode 4b are not connected to each other.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the laminate 2 of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 has a plurality of laminated dielectric layers 5 and a plurality of internal electrode layers 6. Each dielectric layer 5 extends in a direction parallel to the first principal surface TS1 and the second principal surface TS2. In the laminate 2, the direction in which the first principal surface TS1 and the second principal surface TS2 face each other is the lamination direction of the plurality of dielectric layers 5. The plurality of internal electrode layers 6 are arranged so as to face each other with the dielectric layer 5 sandwiched therebetween.

[0020] Each dielectric layer 5 is made of, for example, a sintered ceramic green sheet containing a dielectric ceramic. In an actual multilayer ceramic capacitor, each dielectric layer 5 is integrated to the extent that the boundaries between the dielectric layers 5 are not visible. Each internal electrode layer 6 is made of a sintered conductive paste.

[0021] Each internal electrode layer 6 includes a first conductor portion 6m and a plurality of second conductor portions 6s. In this embodiment, four second conductor portions 6s are set for one first conductor portion 6m. The first conductor portions 6m of adjacent internal electrode layers 6 face each other across the dielectric layer 5. Each second conductor portion 6s is extended from the first conductor portion 6m to the first side surface WS1 or the second side surface WS2, but the positions of the second conductor portions 6s arranged in each internal electrode layer 6 are the same in every other layer, and the positions of the second conductor portions 6s of adjacent internal electrode layers 6 do not overlap when viewed from the stacking direction T. As a result, adjacent internal electrode layers 6 are electrically and physically connected to either the first external electrode 4a or the second external electrode 4b, which are mutually different electrodes, and capacitance is formed between adjacent internal electrode layers 6.

[0022] The materials constituting the dielectric layers 5, the internal electrode layers 6, and the external electrodes 4 are the same as those of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 10 described below, and will be described in the description of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 10.

[0023] (Multilayer ceramic capacitor 10) 3 to 5 show the shape and structure of a multilayer ceramic capacitor 10 (second embodiment). FIG. 3 is an external view of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 10. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view (LT cross-sectional view) of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 10 taken along line AA at the center of the width direction W shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an inner layer portion 3. The structure of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 10 will be described using the stacking direction T, which is the direction in which the dielectric layers 5 and the internal electrode layers 6 are stacked, a length direction L perpendicular to the stacking direction T, and a width direction W perpendicular to the stacking direction T and the length direction L. In the embodiment, the width direction W, the length direction L, and the stacking direction T are perpendicular to one another, but they do not necessarily have to be perpendicular to one another and may intersect one another.

[0024] The multilayer ceramic capacitor 10 includes a rectangular parallelepiped laminate 2. The laminate 2 includes an inner layer portion 3 and has a pair of first and second main surfaces TS1 and TS2 facing each other in a stacking direction T, a pair of first and second end surfaces LS1 and LS2 facing each other in a length direction L perpendicular to the stacking direction T, and a pair of first and second side surfaces WS1 and WS2 facing each other in a width direction W perpendicular to both the stacking direction T and the length direction L.

[0025] The dimensions of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 10 are not particularly limited, but for example, the height direction T dimension can be approximately 0.1 mm to 2.5 mm, the length direction L dimension can be approximately 0.1 mm to 3.2 mm, and the width direction W dimension can be approximately 0.1 mm to 2.5 mm.

[0026] On the surface of the laminate 2, a first external electrode 4a and a second external electrode 4b are formed.

[0027] The first external electrode 4a is formed on a first end surface LS1 of the laminate 2. The first external electrode 4a is formed in a cap shape, and its edge portion extends from the first end surface LS1 of the laminate 2 to the first main surface TS1, the second main surface TS2, the first side surface WS1, and the second side surface WS2.

[0028] The second external electrode 4b is formed on the second end surface LS2 of the laminate 2. The second external electrode 4b is formed in a cap shape, and its edge portion extends from the second end surface LS2 of the laminate 2 to the first main surface TS1, the second main surface TS2, the first side surface WS1, and the second side surface WS2.

[0029] In the multilayer ceramic capacitor 10, the first internal electrode layer 6a extended to the first end face LS1 of the laminate 2 is connected to the first external electrode 4a, and the second internal electrode layer 6b extended to the second end face LS2 of the laminate 2 is connected to the second external electrode 4b.

[0030] The external electrode 4 may have a structure including, for example, a base electrode layer and a plating layer disposed on the base electrode layer.

[0031] The base electrode layer includes a baked electrode layer or a resin electrode layer as a single layer, as described below. The base electrode layer may be a layer composed of a baked electrode and a resin electrode layer covering the baked electrode.

[0032] The baked electrode layer is a layer containing glass and metal, and may be a single layer or multiple layers. The baked electrode layer contains, for example, a metal such as Cu, Ni, Ag, Pd, or Au, or an alloy of Ag and Pd.

[0033] The baked electrode layer is formed by applying a conductive paste containing glass and metal to the laminate and baking the paste. The baking may be performed simultaneously with or after the firing of the laminate.

[0034] The resin electrode layer can be formed, for example, as a layer containing conductive particles and a thermosetting resin. When forming a resin electrode layer, it may be formed directly on the laminate without forming a baked electrode layer. The resin electrode layer may be a single layer or multiple layers.

[0035] The plating layer disposed on the base electrode layer includes at least one of metals such as Cu, Ni, Ag, Pd, and Au, or an alloy of Ag and Pd. The plating layer may be a single layer or multiple layers. For example, the plating layer may have a two-layer structure of a Ni plating layer and a Sn plating layer.

[0036] The internal layer portion 3 is composed of a plurality of dielectric layers 5 and a plurality of internal electrode layers 6 stacked one on top of the other. The internal electrode layers 6 are composed of a first internal electrode layer 6a and a second internal electrode layer 6b. The first internal electrode layer 6a and the second internal electrode layer 6b are disposed on the dielectric layers 5a and 5b, respectively.

[0037] The internal electrode layers 6 extend in the longitudinal direction L and have a rectangular shape in a plan view. The first internal electrode layer 6a is extended to a first end face LS1 of the laminate 2, and the second internal electrode layer 6b is extended to a second end face LS2 of the laminate 2.

[0038] The dielectric layers 5 may be made of any material, but may be made of, for example, ceramic powder containing BaTiO3 as the main component. Alternatively, ceramic powder containing other materials as the main component, such as CaTiO3 or SrTiO3, may be used instead of BaTiO3. Each dielectric layer 5 may be made of, for example, a sintered ceramic green sheet containing a dielectric ceramic.

[0039] The thickness of the dielectric layer 5 is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, about 0.3 μm to 2.0 μm in the effective region for forming capacitance formed by the first internal electrode layer 6a and the second internal electrode layer 6b.

[0040] The number of dielectric layers 5 is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, 1 to 6000 layers in the effective area for forming capacitance formed by the first internal electrode layers 6a and the second internal electrode layers 6b.

[0041] On both the top and bottom of the internal layer portion 3, external layer portions 7 are provided, which are composed only of dielectric layers 5 and have no internal electrode layers 6. The thickness of the external layer portions 7 is not limited, but may be, for example, 15 μm to 150 μm. The thickness of the dielectric layer in the external layer portion 7 may be greater than the thickness of the dielectric layer in the effective region for capacitance formation where the internal electrode layers 6 are formed. The material of the dielectric layer in the external layer portion may be different from the material of the dielectric layer in the internal layer portion.

[0042] 3 shows the inner layer portion 3 broken down into individual dielectric layers 5 in the stacking direction T. In an actual multilayer ceramic capacitor, the dielectric layers 5 are integrated to the extent that the boundaries between the dielectric layers 5 are not visible.

[0043] The internal electrode layers 6 are formed by sintering a conductive paste containing metal powder as a conductor, an organic solvent, a binder, and a dispersant on the dielectric layers. The internal electrode layers 6 and the dielectric layers 5 are alternately stacked to form the internal layer portion 3. The internal electrode layers 6 are composed of a first internal electrode layer 6a and a second internal electrode layer 6b, and the first internal electrode layer 6a and the second internal electrode layer 6b are arranged on the dielectric layers 5a and 5b, respectively.

[0044] Metals such as Cu, Ni, Ag, Au, and Pt can be used for the internal electrode layers 6. These metals may also be compounds containing these metal elements or alloys with other metals.

[0045] The thickness of the internal electrode layer 6 is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, about 0.3 μm to 1.5 μm.

[0046] (Electronic component manufacturing equipment) Next, an electronic component manufacturing apparatus equipped with an alignment device and an application device, and an electronic component manufacturing method using the same will be described. While the above-mentioned multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 will be used as an example of an electronic component, the present invention can be widely used in the manufacture of electronic components, including all types of multilayer ceramic capacitors, such as the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1. In the manufacture of electronic components, the electronic component element corresponds to the laminate 2 before the conductive paste for forming the external electrodes of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 is applied.

[0047] (Alignment device) The components constituting the alignment device and the steps performed by the alignment device will be described below.

[0048] (Transfer jig) The transfer jig 11 is arranged in the transfer area 15a of the alignment device 15. 6(a) to 6(c) show a schematic diagram of the process performed by the transfer jig 11 in the transfer area 15a.

[0049] The transferring jig 11 is in the form of a flat plate with a plurality of recesses 12 into which the electronic component elements 2 are transferred, and openings 12a are formed in the recesses 12 so as to receive the electronic component elements 2 from above. The transferring jig 11 can usually be made of a metal material or a resin material that has the required rigidity, but there are no particular restrictions on the type of material from which the transferring jig 11 of the present invention is made.

[0050] The multiple recesses 12 are regularly arranged on the main surface 11a of the transfer jig 11. The recesses 12 are sized to receive the rectangular parallelepiped electronic component element 2, and although there are no particular limitations, it is preferable that the length and width of the opening 12a are each 10 to 20% larger than the length direction L and width direction W of the electronic component element 2. It is also preferable to slope or round the periphery of the opening 12a, as this makes it easier for the electronic component element 2 to fit into the recesses 12 and shortens the working time.

[0051] As shown in Figure 6(a), the electronic component body 2 is inserted into the recess 12 of the inserting jig 11. In the inserting step, the inserting jig 11 is set in a shaker (not shown) and the electronic component body 2 is inserted while applying a predetermined vibration. The shaker can be configured to change the angle of the main surface 11a of the inserting jig 11 relative to the horizontal, i.e., the inclination, by a predetermined amount and at a predetermined cycle while vibrating the inserting jig 11.

[0052] If the upper end of the transferred electronic component element 2 protrudes above the main surface 11a of the transfer jig 11, the protruding portion will prevent the electronic component element 2 from moving over the main surface 11a of the transfer jig 11, preventing it from being transferred efficiently into the recess 12. Furthermore, the electronic component element 2 may be damaged by colliding with the protruding portion of the transferred electronic component element 2. If the flow of the electronic component element 2 on the main surface 11a of the transfer jig 11 becomes poor, it will take longer to transfer the electronic component element 2, which could result in a longer takt time and reduced productivity. Therefore, it is preferable that the depth of the recess 12 be approximately the same as or slightly greater than the height of the electronic component element 2.

[0053] (suction nozzle) Next, the electronic component element 2 placed in the placing jig 11 is picked up using the suction nozzle 13 .

[0054] As shown in Figure 6(b), a suction nozzle 13 that sucks up the electronic component element 2 by vacuum suction is disposed above the opening 12a of the feeding jig 11. As shown in Figure 6(c), the electronic component element 2 that has been fed into the recess 12 of the feeding jig 11 is picked up by the suction nozzle 13 through the opening 12a of the recess 12 and transferred to the adhesive holding member 14 in the set area 15b. Note that the suction nozzle 13 is not limited to suction by vacuum suction; for example, because the internal electrode layers 6 that make up the electronic component element 2 contain metal, a wide variety of means that can attract the electronic component element 2 can be used, such as picking up the electronic component element 2 using magnetic force.

[0055] In the alignment device 15, the suction nozzle 13 moves back and forth between the vicinity of the opening 12a of the transfer jig 11 in the transfer area 15a and the adhesive holding member 14 in the set area 15b.

[0056] Figure 6 shows one suction nozzle 13 to illustrate the operation of the suction nozzle 13, but if multiple suction nozzles 13 are arranged, multiple electronic component bodies 2 that have been placed in the recesses 12 of the placing jig 11 can be removed at once and transferred to the adhesive holding member 14, allowing the work to be carried out more efficiently.

[0057] (first camera) If a first camera C1 is installed to grasp the position of the electronic component body 2, so that the electronic component body 2 placed in the recess 12 of the placing jig 11 can be removed while correcting its positional relationship with the suction nozzle 13, the position of the electronic component body 2 can be accurately grasped on the monitor C11 based on the information from the first camera C1, and it can be reliably determined which part of the electronic component body 2 the suction nozzle 13 will pick up by suction. It is preferable that the suction nozzle 13 suctions the center of the electronic component body 2.

[0058] (Adhesive holding material) The adhesive holding member 14 has a structure in which an adhesive layer 14b for holding the electronic component element 2 is disposed on a base 14a. The electronic component element 2 is taken out of the opening 12a of the transfer jig 11 by the suction nozzle 13, moves from the transfer area 15a to the setting area 15b, and as shown in Figure 6(d), the suction nozzle 13 moves to carry it above the adhesive holding member, and then descends to be adhesively held at a predetermined position on the adhesive layer 14b of the adhesive holding member 14, taking into consideration the positional relationship between the suction nozzle 13 and the electronic component element 2.

[0059] The adhesive layer 14b may be a silicone resin layer (e.g., a silicone polymer layer) or an acrylic resin layer (e.g., an acrylic polymer layer), but a sheet formed by incorporating an adhesive material into the pores of a porous silicone resin can also be used. The adhesive layer 14b is preferably an elastic body in order to absorb the impact when the electronic component body 2 is placed. The adhesive layer of a general resin tape can also be used.

[0060] (Second camera) Furthermore, if a second camera C2 is installed to grasp the predetermined position of the adhesive layer 14b, the position of the adhesive holding member 14 can be accurately grasped on the monitor C21 based on the information from the second camera, and the electronic component body 2 held by the suction nozzle 13 can be set accurately at the desired position on the adhesive layer 14b.

[0061] Next, to form the external electrodes 4, a conductive paste for the base electrode layer is applied to the surface of the electronic component element body 2. The conductive paste can be applied by a printing method such as screen printing or gravure printing, but the conductive paste can be applied efficiently to the surface of the electronic component element body 2 by using the following application device.

[0062] (Coating equipment) The following describes the components constituting the coating device and the steps performed by the coating device. Fig. 7 is a perspective view that schematically shows the structure of a coating device 20 for coating a conductive paste according to an embodiment of the present invention and the steps performed by the coating device.

[0063] (Application jig) The applicator 20 includes an applicator jig 21. The applicator jig 21 is provided with a through-hole 23 that penetrates vertically to allow the conductive paste 22 to flow therethrough. The conductive paste 22 is supplied from a supply mechanism 24 disposed below to the through-hole 23 of the applicator 21, and the conductive paste 22 is discharged from an upper discharge port 23a. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, the inner diameter of the through-hole 23 changes stepwise so that it is smaller at the top than at the bottom, but this is not limited thereto and the through-hole may be tapered. Alternatively, the inner diameter may be the same and linear.

[0064] As shown in Figure 7(a), the adhesive holding member 14 holding the electronic component body 2 with the adhesive layer 14b is inverted so that the electronic component body 2 faces downward, and is lowered with the surface of the electronic component body 2 on which the external electrodes 4 are to be formed facing the discharge outlet 23a of the applicator 21. Then, as shown in Figure 7(b), the electronic component body 2 comes into contact with the discharge outlet 23a of the applicator 21. Thereafter, the supply mechanism 24 is raised, and the conductive paste 22 is discharged from the through-holes 23 to apply the conductive paste to the electronic component body 2.

[0065] (positioning mark and camera) A first positioning mark (not shown) is provided on the surface of the applicator 21 to grasp the exact position of the applicator 21, and a second positioning mark (not shown) is provided on the surface of the adhesive holder 14 to grasp the exact position of the adhesive holder 14, and a camera (not shown) is installed to confirm the positions of the first and second positioning marks, so that the adhesive holder 14 can be smoothly moved to a predetermined position above the applicator 21 based on the position information of the first and second positioning marks from the camera, and can be reliably abutted at a predetermined position of the discharge port 23a of the applicator 21 on the electronic component element 2. For example, the second positioning mark does not need to be a physical mark, By providing a through-hole in the excess portion of adhesive holding member 14 and capturing an image of the first mark with a camera through the through-hole, it becomes possible to adjust the positional relationship between applicator 21 and adhesive holding member 14. Therefore, the positional relationship between discharge port 23a and electronic component element 2 that has been picked up and placed with precision on adhesive holding member 14 is determined with precision.

[0066] When the pressurized conductive paste 22 is supplied from the supply mechanism 24 through the supply pipe 24a into the through hole 23, the conductive paste in the through hole 23 is discharged from the discharge outlet 23a of the application jig 21 and applied to the surface of the electronic component body 2 abutting against the discharge outlet 23a (Figure 7(b)).

[0067] When application of the conductive paste 22 to the electronic component body 2 is completed, the adhesive holding member 14 rises, and the supply mechanism 24 finishes supplying the conductive paste 22 to the through-holes 23 and then descends (FIG. 7(c)).

[0068] By going through the above steps, the conductive paste 22 is applied to one side of the electronic component body 2, but since the conductive paste 22 also needs to be applied to the opposite side, after the conductive paste 22 has dried, the electronic component body 2 is set again on the adhesive holding member 14 so that the opposite side abuts the discharge outlet 23a of the application jig 21, and the conductive paste 22 is applied using the application device 20.

[0069] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the process of applying a conductive paste 22 to an electronic component body 2. In the case of an electronic component having multiple external electrodes 4 on one side, such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor 1, multiple slits 25 are arranged in the outlet 23a of the application jig 21 of the application device 20, as shown in FIG. 8, to form multiple small holes.

[0070] The four slits 25 shown in FIG. 8(a) are arranged parallel to one another so as to correspond to the external electrodes 4 arranged on one side surface of the multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 shown in FIG.

[0071] The four slits 25 communicate with a common through-hole 23, and the conductive paste 22 supplied through the through-hole 23 is simultaneously discharged from the four small holes formed by the four slits 25.

[0072] When one side surface of the electronic component body 2 on which the external electrodes 4 are formed, for example, the first side surface WS1, is brought into contact with the application jig 21 and brought into contact with the four slits 25, as shown in Fig. 8(b), the length of the slits 25 is longer than the height of the first side surface WS1 of the electronic component body 2, and therefore openings are formed in the slits 25 that are not in contact with the electronic component body 2. The conductive paste 22 is discharged from the openings of the slits 25 that are not in contact with the electronic component body 2 along the second main surface TS2 of the electronic component body 2, and the conductive paste 22 can be applied to the first side surface WS1 and the second main surface TS2 of the electronic component body 2 so as to form the first electrode portion 4a1 and the second electrode portion 4a2, respectively.

[0073] The electronic component body 2, with the conductive paste 22 applied to the first side surface WS1, also has the conductive paste 22 applied to the second side surface WS2. After the conductive paste 22 has dried, the electronic component body 2 is again fixed to the adhesive holding member 14 so that the second side surface WS2 abuts the discharge outlet 23a of the application jig 21, and the conductive paste 22 is applied by the application device 20.

[0074] In Figure 8, an example is shown in which four rectangular slits 25 are arranged to form four small holes, but the shape and number of the small holes can be changed as appropriate depending on the shape and number of the external electrodes 4.

[0075] The applied conductive paste 22 is fired to form a base electrode layer, and a plating layer is further formed on the surface of the base electrode layer to form an external electrode. The plating layer may be composed of multiple layers as needed. Furthermore, a joint for joining to a wiring board may be formed by applying conductive paste 22 to the surface of the formed plating layer (not shown).

[0076] For example, when a Sn-plated layer is formed on the surface of the base electrode layer, such a joint can be formed by forming a conductive paste of Sn-Sb, Sn-Ag-Cu, Sn-Cu, or Sn-Bi solder material, applying this to the surface of the Sn-plated layer, and heating it.

[0077] The conductive paste that forms the joints can be applied to predetermined locations on the plating layer surface by screen printing, dispensing, or other methods after aligning the electronic components using conventional methods. However, the method for manufacturing electronic components of the present invention makes it possible to efficiently align the electronic components and reliably form joints on the plating layer surface.

[0078] Although the method for manufacturing electronic components has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above content, and various modifications can be made in accordance with the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1. Multilayer ceramic capacitors (electronic components) 2. Laminate (electronic component element) 3. Inner layer 4 External electrode 4a 1st external electrode 4b 2nd external electrode 5 Dielectric Layer 5a Dielectric layer 5b Dielectric layer 6 Internal electrode layer 6a 1st internal electrode layer 6b Second internal electrode layer 7 Outer layer 10 Multilayer ceramic capacitors (electronic components) 11 Transfer jig 11a Main surface 12 recess 12a opening 13 Suction nozzle 14 Adhesive holding member 14a Base 14b Adhesive layer 15 Alignment device 15a Transfer area 15b Set Area 20 Coating equipment 21 Application jig 22 Conductive paste 23 Through hole 23a Discharge port 24 Supply mechanism section 24a Supply pipe 25 slit C1 First Camera C2 Second Camera

Claims

[Claim 1] A transfer area for setting a transfer jig into which a laminate to become a multilayer ceramic capacitor is transferred; a first camera for grasping the position of the stack; a setting area in which an adhesive holding member for holding the laminate is set; a second camera for detecting the position of the adhesive holding member; a suction nozzle that picks up the laminate from the transfer jig based on information from the first camera and sets the laminate at a predetermined position on the adhesive holding member based on information from the second camera; An alignment device for the stack, comprising: A coating device; An electronic component manufacturing apparatus comprising: the adhesive holding member has an adhesive layer for holding the laminate, The adhesive layer is made of an elastic material, The coating device includes a coating jig having a plurality of discharge ports arranged at regular intervals on a surface thereof; a supply mechanism for supplying the conductive paste to the discharge port; the conductive paste discharged from the discharge port is applied to the laminate set at a predetermined position on the adhesive holding member, providing a second positioning mark on a surface of the adhesive holding member of the alignment device; a first positioning mark is provided on a surface of the application jig of the application device; An electronic component manufacturing device that is equipped with a camera that captures the first positioning mark and the second positioning mark, and that positions the application jig and the adhesive holding member in predetermined positions based on position information of the first positioning mark and the second positioning mark from the camera.

Images