Electronic Components

Abstract

An electronic component (1) comprises: an element (3) formed by laminating a plurality of insulating layers in the Z-axis direction; and a secondary coil (L2) and a primary coil (L1) arranged in the Z-axis direction inside the element (3). The secondary coil (L2) has a plurality of wiring patterns (15-19) disposed apart from each other in the Z-axis direction. The primary coil (L1) includes: a plurality of wiring patterns (11-14) disposed apart from each other in the Z-axis direction; and a gap (GA) disposed in a region sandwiched by wiring patterns (13, 14) adjacent to each other. The thickness of the gap (GA) is greater than each of the distances between wiring patterns (11-13, 15-19) adjacent to each other but not having the gap (GA) therebetween.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic component including a first coil and a second coil that are arranged at a distance from each other inside an insulating element body and are magnetically coupled to each other. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-307933 (Patent Document 1) discloses a transformer having a primary coil and a secondary coil that are stacked inside an insulating element body and magnetically coupled to each other. In this transformer, a prepreg (a sheet-like fiber impregnated with resin) is placed between the primary coil and the secondary coil. The coupling coefficient between the primary coil and the secondary coil can be adjusted by adjusting the number of sheets that make up the prepreg. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-307933 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The transformer configuration disclosed in JP 2001-307933 A had the problem that the distance between the primary coil and secondary coil could only be changed in increments equal to the number of sheets making up the prepreg, making it impossible to finely adjust the coupling coefficient.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and its purpose is to enable fine adjustment of the coupling coefficient between the first coil and the second coil in an electronic component having a first coil and a second coil arranged inside a base body while preventing the height of the base body from becoming too large. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The electronic component according to the present disclosure includes an insulating base body formed by stacking multiple insulating layers, and first and second coils arranged at intervals in the stacking direction of the insulating layers inside the base body and connected in series. The first coil has multiple first wiring patterns arranged at intervals in the stacking direction. The second coil includes multiple second wiring patterns arranged at intervals in the stacking direction, and a gap arranged in at least one region among multiple regions sandwiched between adjacent second wiring patterns in the stacking direction among the multiple second wiring patterns. The gap distance is larger than the distance between adjacent second wiring patterns without a gap and different from the distance between adjacent first wiring patterns. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, a first coil and a second coil connected in series are arranged side by side in the stacking direction inside an element body. The gap is arranged not between the first coil and the second coil, but within the second coil. This allows for finer adjustment of the coupling coefficient between the first coil and the second coil than when the gap is arranged between the first coil and the second coil. Furthermore, because the gap is not arranged within the first coil, an increase in the height of the element body (dimension in the stacking direction) is suppressed. As a result, the coupling coefficient can be finely adjusted while suppressing an increase in the height of the element body. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a circuit diagram of an electronic component (part 1). [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the appearance of the electronic component. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an exploded plan view (part 1) showing the internal configuration of the electronic component. [Figure 4] This is a cross-sectional view of an electronic component (part 1). [Figure 5] Cross-sectional view of an electronic component (part 2). [Figure 6] Cross-sectional view of an electronic component (part 3). [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a first comparative example. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of Comparative Example 2. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a simulation result of a coupling coefficient. [Figure 10] This is the circuit diagram of the electronic component (part 2). [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is an exploded plan view (part 2) showing the internal configuration of the electronic component. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

[0010] [Embodiment 1] 1 is a circuit diagram of an electronic component 1 according to the present embodiment 1. The electronic component 1 is, for example, a transformer used for communication in a high frequency band of several hundred MHz or more.

[0011] The electronic component 1 includes external terminals T1, T2, and T4, and a primary coil L1 and a secondary coil L2 connected in series between the external terminals T1 and T2. The primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 are magnetically coupled to each other. In this embodiment, the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 are connected to each other in a constructive manner. The primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 may also be connected to each other in a differential manner. A constructively connected state of inductors refers to a connection state in which, when a current flows from one inductor to the other inductor via a connection point, the magnetic fields generated by the two inductors are oriented in the same direction and reinforce each other, and the magnetic flux linking the wiring patterns constituting the inductors is shared. For example, if the two inductors are coil-shaped and their coil openings overlap in a plan view, the winding direction from the end opposite the connection point of one inductor to the connection point is the same as the winding direction from the connection point of the other inductor to the end opposite the connection point.

[0012] A connection point N1 between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 is connected to an external terminal T4. In this embodiment, the external terminal T4 is grounded. Therefore, the connection point N1 is grounded via the external terminal T4.

[0013] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of electronic component 1. Electronic component 1 includes an insulating element body 3. The element body 3 is formed by stacking multiple insulating layers, each having a wiring pattern formed on its surface, in the stacking direction. The insulating layers are made of materials such as low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) material containing borosilicate glass as the main component, or insulating resins such as polyimide resin and glass epoxy resin. In addition, due to processes such as firing and curing, the interfaces between the multiple insulating layers of element body 3 may not be clearly defined.

[0014] The element body 3 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Specifically, the element body 3 has a rectangular bottom surface 4 and a top surface 5 that face each other, and four side surfaces 6 to 9 that connect the bottom surface 4 and the top surface 5 together.

[0015] Hereinafter, the stacking direction of the insulating layers in the element body 3 will also be referred to as the "Z-axis direction," the direction along the short side of the bottom surface 4 as the "X-axis direction," and the direction along the long side of the bottom surface 4 as the "Y-axis direction." In addition, below, the positive direction of the Z-axis in each drawing (the direction from the bottom surface 4 toward the top surface 5) may be referred to as the upper side, and the negative direction as the lower side.

[0016] When the element body 3 is viewed in plan from the Z-axis direction, four external terminals T1 to T4 are arranged at the four corners of the bottom surface 4. As shown in Fig. 2, each of the external terminals T1 to T4 is formed to extend onto the bottom surface and two side surfaces adjacent to the corner where it is arranged. By arranging the external terminals T1 to T4 on the outside (bottom surface and side surfaces) of the element body 3 rather than inside it, the element body 3 can be made smaller and the mounting strength of the electronic component 1 can be improved.

[0017] 3 is an exploded plan view showing the internal configuration of electronic component 1. Base body 3 of electronic component 1 is formed by laminating 10 insulating layers 3a-3j in this order in the Z-axis direction from bottom surface 4 to top surface 5. The thickness of each layer (the combined dimension in the Z-axis direction of one insulating layer and the wiring pattern formed on that insulating layer) is approximately the same for all layers.

[0018] Four electrodes connected to external terminals T1 to T4, respectively, are formed at the four corners of each of the insulating layers 3a to 3j. In the electronic component 1 according to this embodiment, the external terminal T1 is an input terminal (IN) to which a signal is input from the outside, the external terminal T2 is an output terminal (OUT) that outputs a signal from the electronic component 1 to the outside, the external terminal T3 is a non-connect terminal (NC) that is not connected to the internal circuit of the electronic component 1, and the external terminal T4 is a ground terminal (GND) that is connected to an external ground.

[0019] The primary coil L1 is formed by stacking five insulating layers 3a to 3e. Four wiring patterns 11 to 14 are formed on the upper surfaces of the insulating layers 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3e, respectively. No wiring pattern is formed on the insulating layer 3d. One end of the wiring pattern 11 on the insulating layer 3a is connected to an external terminal T1, which is an input terminal. The other end of the wiring pattern 11 is connected to one end of the wiring pattern 12 on the layer immediately above through a via V1 formed through the insulating layer 3b. The other end of the wiring pattern 12 is connected to one end of the wiring pattern 13 on the layer immediately above through a via V2. The other end of the wiring pattern 13 is connected to one end of the wiring pattern 14 on the layer two layers above through a via V3 formed through the insulating layers 3d and 3e. The other end of the wiring pattern 14 is connected to an external terminal T4, which is a ground terminal.

[0020] The secondary coil L2 is formed by stacking five insulating layers 3f to 3j. Five wiring patterns 15 to 19 are formed on the upper surfaces of the insulating layers 3f to 3j, respectively. One end of the wiring pattern 15 on the insulating layer 3f is connected to an external terminal T4, which is a ground terminal. The other end of the wiring pattern 15 is connected to one end of the wiring pattern 16 on the layer immediately above through a via V4 formed through the insulating layer 3g. The other end of the wiring pattern 16 is connected to one end of the wiring pattern 17 on the layer immediately above through a via V5. The other end of the wiring pattern 17 is connected to one end of the wiring pattern 18 on the layer immediately above through a via V6. The other end of the wiring pattern 18 is connected to one end of the wiring pattern 19 on the layer immediately above through a via V7. The other end of the wiring pattern 19 is connected to the external terminal T2, which is an output terminal.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 3, each of the wiring patterns 11-19 is formed in a loop shape of less than one turn on the insulating layer on which it is disposed. The primary coil L1 is formed in a helical shape by connecting four wiring patterns 11-14, each of which has a loop shape of less than one turn, with vias V1-V3. The secondary coil L2 is formed in a helical shape by connecting five wiring patterns 15-19, each of which has a loop shape of less than one turn, with vias V4-V7.

[0022] The winding axis of the primary coil L1 is included in the opening of the secondary coil L2 when viewed from the Z-axis direction. The winding axis of the secondary coil L2 is also included in the opening of the primary coil L1 when viewed from the Z-axis direction. The "winding axis" of each coil is the axis that passes through the center of the formation area of ​​each coil when viewed from a plane in the Z-axis direction, and is the axis that passes through the strongest part of the magnetic field generated in each coil. The "opening" of each coil is the inner part surrounded by the wiring pattern of each coil when viewed from a plane in the stacking direction.

[0023] In this way, by arranging the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 so that the winding axes of both are included in both openings, the openings of the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 overlap to a large extent when viewed from the Z-axis direction, thereby strengthening the magnetic coupling between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2.

[0024] In this embodiment, as described above, each of the wiring patterns 11-19 of the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 is shaped like a loop of less than one turn. This allows the opening of each coil to be formed wider than when each of the wiring patterns 11-19 is shaped like a loop of one turn or more (spiral or volute), thereby reducing the disturbance of the magnetic field generated in each coil. This makes it possible to further strengthen the magnetic coupling between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2.

[0025] Each of the insulating layers 3a to 3j is made of, for example, a ceramic green sheet. Each of the wiring patterns 11 to 19 can be formed by printing a pattern of a conductive paste on the ceramic green sheet on which it is to be placed.

[0026] In electronic component 1 according to this embodiment, among the five-layer region in which primary coil L1 is arranged, insulating layer 3d, on which no wiring pattern is formed, is interposed in the region between insulating layer 3c and insulating layer 3e (the fourth layer counting from bottom surface 4). As a result, insulating layer 3d functions as a "gap GA" arranged within primary coil L1.

[0027] 4 is a cross-sectional view of electronic component 1. Electronic component 1 is formed by stacking the above-mentioned ten insulating layers 3a to 3j in the Z-axis direction, so that primary coil L1 and secondary coil L2 that are magnetically coupled to each other are formed inside element body 3. The height (dimension in the Z-axis direction) of electronic component 1 is a predetermined value H that corresponds to the thickness of the ten layers.

[0028] The primary coil L1 is formed by connecting four layers of wiring patterns 11 to 14 spaced apart in the Z-axis direction by vias V1 to V3, while the secondary coil L2 is formed by connecting five layers of wiring patterns 15 to 19 spaced apart in the Z-axis direction by vias V4 to V7.

[0029] The gap GA is formed by inserting an insulating layer 3d, on which no wiring pattern is formed, in the region (fourth layer counting from the bottom surface 4) between the insulating layer 3c, on whose top surface the wiring pattern 13 is formed, and the insulating layer 3e, on whose top surface the wiring pattern 14 is formed, within the five-layer region in which the primary coil L1 is arranged. Therefore, the distance (dimension in the Z-axis direction) of the gap GA is the thickness of the insulating layer 3d and the insulating layer 3e sandwiched between the wiring pattern 13 and the wiring pattern 14 (the thickness of two insulating layers). Meanwhile, the distance in the Z-axis direction between adjacent wiring patterns within the element body 3 without a gap GA in between is the thickness of one insulating layer.

[0030] Therefore, the gap GA is larger than the distance in the Z-axis direction between adjacent wiring patterns without the gap GA in the primary coil L1. In other words, the gap GA is larger than the distance between the wiring patterns 11 and 12 and the distance between the wiring patterns 12 and 13.

[0031] Furthermore, the gap GA is different from the distance in the Z-axis direction between the wiring patterns in the secondary coil L2. Specifically, the gap GA is larger than the distance between the wiring patterns 15 and 16, the distance between the wiring patterns 16 and 17, the distance between the wiring patterns 17 and 18, and the distance between the wiring patterns 18 and 19.

[0032] Furthermore, the gap GA is larger than the distance in the Z-axis direction between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 (the distance between the adjacent wiring pattern 14 of the primary coil L1 and the wiring pattern 15 of the secondary coil L2, hereinafter also referred to as the "coil-to-coil distance GB").

[0033] 4, in electronic component 1, the height of element body 3 is maintained at a predetermined value H, and gap GA is disposed in the region closest to secondary coil L2 among three regions sandwiched between adjacent wiring patterns in primary coil L1, i.e., the region between wiring patterns 13 and 14. As a result, when boundary BL is defined as the center of inter-coil distance GB in the Z-axis direction, the distance from boundary BL to gap GA becomes a predetermined value D1 corresponding to approximately one layer, as shown in FIG.

[0034] The area where the gap GA is arranged is not necessarily limited to the area closest to the secondary coil L2.

[0035] 5 is a cross-sectional view of another electronic component 1A according to the present embodiment. In this electronic component 1A, gap GA is disposed in the intermediate region within primary coil L1, i.e., the region between wiring patterns 12 and 13. As a result, the distance from boundary BL to gap GA is set to a predetermined value D2 that is greater than predetermined value D1.

[0036] 6 is a cross-sectional view of another electronic component 1B according to the present embodiment. In this electronic component 1B, gap GA is located in the region of primary coil L1 that is farthest from secondary coil L2, i.e., the region between wiring patterns 11 and 12. As a result, the distance from boundary BL to gap GA becomes a predetermined value D3 that is larger than predetermined value D2.

[0037] In each of the above-described electronic components 1, 1A, and 1B, a gap GA equivalent to the distance between two insulating layers is provided within the primary coil L1, not between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2. The position of the gap GA (the distance from the boundary BL to the gap GA) is different in the electronic components 1, 1A, and 1B. This allows the coupling coefficient k between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 to be finely and stepwise adjusted while maintaining the height of the element body 3 at a predetermined value H in each of the electronic components 1, 1A, and 1B.

[0038] The inventors of the present application performed simulations to calculate the inductance value of the primary coil L1, the inductance value of the secondary coil L2, and the coupling coefficient k between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 for each of models 1 to 3, using the electronic component 1 shown in FIG. 4 described above as "Model 1," the electronic component 1A shown in FIG. 5 as "Model 2," and the electronic component 1B shown in FIG. 6 as "Model 3."

[0039] In addition, in the simulation, for comparison with Models 1 to 3, the same simulation was also performed for the configurations of Comparative Examples 1 and 2.

[0040] 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic component according to Comparative Example 1. In the electronic component of Comparative Example 1, the height of the element body 3 is maintained at a predetermined value H, and a gap GA is disposed in the region between the bottom surface 4 and the primary coil L1. That is, in Comparative Example 1, the gap GA is not provided in any of the regions within the primary coil L1, the secondary coil L2, and the region between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2.

[0041] 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electronic component according to Comparative Example 2. In the electronic component of Comparative Example 2, the height of the element body 3 is maintained at a predetermined value H, and a gap GA is provided in the region between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2.

[0042] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the simulation results of the coupling coefficient k. Note that Fig. 9 shows the inductance value (unit: nH) of the primary coil L1, the inductance value (unit: nH) of the secondary coil L2, and the value of the coupling coefficient k between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 obtained by the simulation for each of Models 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2.

[0043] The coupling coefficient k of Comparative Example 1, which has no gap GA, is 0.585. The coupling coefficient k of Comparative Example 2, which has a gap GA between the coils, is 0.460, which is a significant decrease of about 21 percent compared to the coupling coefficient k of Comparative Example 1, which has no gap GA, 0.585.

[0044] In contrast, the coupling coefficients k of Models 1 to 3, in which the gap GA is provided in the primary coil L1, are "0.500," "0.550," and "0.580," respectively, and do not decrease as drastically as in Comparative Example 2 compared to Comparative Example 1. Furthermore, there is no significant difference between the inductance values ​​of the coils L1 and L2 of Models 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2.

[0045] As can be seen from these simulation results, in models 1 to 3 of the present application, the coupling coefficient k can be changed finely without significantly changing the inductance values ​​of the primary coil L1 and secondary coil L2, compared to comparison example 2 in which a gap GA is provided between the coils.

[0046] Furthermore, when comparing Models 2 and 3 using Model 1 as the reference, the inductance values ​​of coils L1 and L2 of Models 2 and 3 are reduced by less than 3.6% from the reference. On the other hand, the coupling coefficient k of Model 2 is reduced by about 9.1% from the reference, while the coupling coefficient k of Model 3 is reduced by about 14.1% from the reference, which is a larger change than Model 2.

[0047] As can be seen from the simulation results, changing the insertion position of the gap GA in the primary coil L1 (the distance in the Z-axis direction from the boundary BL to the gap GA) causes a larger change in the coupling coefficient k than in the inductance values ​​of the coils L1 and L2. In other words, changing the insertion position of the gap GA in the primary coil L1 makes it possible to change the coupling coefficient k in stages without significantly changing the inductance values ​​of the coils L1 and L2.

[0048] In particular, in Model 3, the gap GA is located at the position farthest from the boundary BL, and therefore does not significantly affect the coupling between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2. In other words, in Model 3, the coupling coefficient k can be adjusted more finely than in Models 1 and 2.

[0049] As described above, in each of the electronic components 1, 1A, and 1B according to the present embodiment, the gap GA is disposed within the primary coil L1, not between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2. This allows for more fine adjustment of the coupling coefficient k than when the gap GA is disposed between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2. Furthermore, because the gap GA is not disposed within the secondary coil L2, the height of the element body 3 can be made smaller than when the gap GA is disposed in both the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2. As a result, the coupling coefficient k can be finely adjusted while preventing the height of the element body 3 from increasing.

[0050] Furthermore, the gap GA is inserted at a different position in the primary coil L1 of the electronic components 1, 1A, and 1B, which allows the coupling coefficient k between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 to be adjusted in stages while maintaining the height of the element body 3 at a predetermined value H.

[0051] <Modification> In this embodiment, the example has been described in which the shape of each of the wiring patterns 11 to 19 when viewed from the Z-axis direction is a loop of less than one revolution, but the shape of each of the wiring patterns 11 to 19 is not limited to this.

[0052] For example, the wiring patterns 11 and 19 farthest from the boundary BL may be looped less than one turn, while the wiring patterns 14 and 15 closest to the boundary BL may be looped more than one turn (spiral shape). This allows the inductance values ​​of the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 to be increased. The other wiring patterns 12, 13, 16 to 18 may also be spiral-shaped as needed.

[0053] In addition, in this embodiment, an example has been described in which the gap GA is formed by adding an insulating layer 3d on which no wiring pattern is formed within the primary coil L1, but the method of forming the gap GA is not limited to this.

[0054] 3, instead of adding insulating layer 3d on which no wiring pattern is formed, insulating layer 3e on which wiring pattern 14 is formed may have a thickness equivalent to that of two other insulating layers. In this way, gap GA can also be formed.

[0055] In addition, although the present embodiment has been described with reference to an example in which the gap GA is disposed in the primary coil L1, the gap GA may be disposed in either the primary coil L1 or the secondary coil L2. In other words, the gap GA may be disposed in the secondary coil L2 instead of the primary coil L1.

[0056] [Embodiment 2] 10 is a circuit diagram of an electronic component 1C according to the present embodiment 2. The electronic component 1C is a filter in which capacitors Cp2 and Cb1 are added to the electronic component 1 described above.

[0057] The capacitor Cp2 is connected between the external terminal T4 and the external terminal T3. The external terminal T4 is connected to the connection point N1 between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2, and the external terminal T3 is grounded. Therefore, the capacitor Cp2 is connected between the connection point N1 between the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 and the ground.

[0058] Although the capacitor Cp2 has a parasitic inductance, the parasitic inductance can be canceled out by the mutual inductance M that occurs when the primary coil L1 and secondary coil L2 are magnetically coupled. The mutual inductance M can be expressed by the following equation (1) using the coupling coefficient k.

[0059] M=k √(L1 L2) …(1) In equation (1), "L1" is the inductance value of the primary coil L1, and "L2" is the inductance value of the secondary coil L2.

[0060] The capacitor Cb1 is connected in parallel to the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2. Specifically, the capacitor Cb1 is connected between a connection point N2 between the external terminal T1 and the primary coil L1 and a connection point N3 between the external terminal T2 and the secondary coil L2.

[0061] Typically, when the shape of each coil is changed to adjust the inductance value (L value) of the primary coil and the secondary coil, the resonance characteristics (Q value) or the coupling coefficient k also changes at the same time. Therefore, when designing a filter or the like that uses mutual inductance M such as electronic component 1C, a method may be adopted in which the shape of each coil is first designed to obtain the desired L value and Q value, and then the coupling coefficient k is adjusted to obtain the desired mutual inductance value. When such a design method is adopted, as described in the first embodiment above, by placing the gap GA within one of the coils rather than between the coils, the coupling coefficient k can be finely adjusted without significantly changing the inductance value of each coil.

[0062] 11 is an exploded plan view showing the internal configuration of electronic component 1C. In electronic component 1C, eleven insulating layers 6a to 6k are stacked in this order in the Z-axis direction between bottom surface 4 and top surface 5.

[0063] The primary coil L1 in the electronic component 1C is formed by laminating four insulating layers 6e to 6h. Three wiring patterns 21 to 23 are formed on the upper surface of each of the insulating layers 6e, 6g, and 6h. No wiring pattern is formed on the upper surface of the insulating layer 6f. That is, a gap GA is formed within the primary coil L1 by the insulating layer 6f.

[0064] The secondary coil L2 in the electronic component 1C is formed by laminating three insulating layers 6i to 6k. Three wiring patterns 24 to 26 are formed on the upper surface of each of the insulating layers 6i to 6k. No gap GA is formed within the secondary coil L2.

[0065] Each of the wiring patterns 21 to 26 has a loop shape (spiral shape) that is one or more turns long.

[0066] Furthermore, in the region between the primary coil L1 and the bottom surface 4, insulating layers 6a to 6c are arranged for forming the capacitors Cp2 and Cb1.

[0067] Plate-shaped capacitance electrodes 31 and 34 are formed on the upper surfaces of the insulating layers 6a and 6c, respectively, and plate-shaped ground electrodes 32 and 36 are formed on the upper surfaces of the insulating layers 6b and 6d, respectively. Capacitor Cp2 is formed by alternately stacking the capacitance electrodes and ground electrodes in the order of capacitance electrode 31, ground electrode 32, capacitance electrode 34, and ground electrode 36.

[0068] A capacitance electrode 33 is formed on the upper surface of the insulating layer 6c in addition to the capacitance electrode 34, and a capacitance electrode 35 is formed on the upper surface of the insulating layer 6d in addition to the ground electrode 36. The capacitance electrodes 33 and 35 are stacked to form a capacitor Cb1.

[0069] As described above, in the electronic component 1C (filter) according to the second embodiment, the coupling coefficient k can be finely adjusted by providing the gap GA in the primary coil L1, and therefore the circuit constants as a filter can be finely adjusted, thereby improving the degree of freedom in designing the filter characteristics.

[0070] In the above-described first and second embodiments, an example is shown in which one end of the primary coil L1 and one end of the secondary coil L2 are connected by an external terminal (external electrode), but the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2 may not be electrically connected, and a four-terminal transformer coil may be formed using, for example, non-connect terminals (NC). The connection portions between the wiring patterns and the external terminals may be defined as coil ends, and the bundles of coils connecting the coil ends may be defined as the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2, respectively.

[0071] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the description of the above embodiments, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1, 1A, 1B, 1C electronic components, 3 element body, 3a to 3j, 6a to 6k insulating layers, 4 bottom surface, 5 top surface, 6 to 9 side surfaces, 11 to 19, 21, 23 to 26 wiring patterns, 31, 33, 34, 35 capacitance electrodes, 32, 36 ground electrodes, BL boundary, Cb1, Cp2 capacitors, GA gap, L1 primary coil, L2 secondary coil, T1, T2, T3, T4 external terminals.

Claims

1. an insulating element body formed by stacking a plurality of insulating layers; a first coil and a second coil arranged at an interval in a stacking direction of the insulating layers inside the element body and connected in series to each other; the first coil has a plurality of first wiring patterns arranged at intervals in the stacking direction, The second coil is a plurality of second wiring patterns arranged at intervals in the stacking direction; a gap disposed in at least one region among a plurality of regions sandwiched between adjacent second wiring patterns in the stacking direction among the plurality of second wiring patterns, the gap is larger than the distance between the second wiring patterns adjacent to each other in the stacking direction without the gap therebetween, and is different from the distance between the first wiring patterns adjacent to each other; The gap is disposed in the second coil at a position adjacent to the second wiring pattern that is farthest from the first coil in the stacking direction.

2. The electronic component according to claim 1 , wherein the gap is larger than the distance between adjacent first wiring patterns.

3. 3. The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the gap is larger than the distance between the first wiring pattern of the first coil and the second wiring pattern of the second coil, which are adjacent to each other.

4. a winding axis of the first coil is included in an opening of the second coil when viewed from the stacking direction, The electronic component according to claim 1 , wherein a winding axis of the second coil is included in an opening of the first coil when viewed from the stacking direction.

5. 3 . The electronic component according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of first wiring patterns and the plurality of second wiring patterns is formed in a loop shape of less than one circumference when viewed from the stacking direction.

6. the first wiring pattern and the second wiring pattern closest to the adjacent portion of the first coil and the second coil are formed in a loop shape of one or more turns when viewed from the stacking direction, 3. The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the first wiring pattern and the second wiring pattern that are furthest from the adjacent portion in the stacking direction are formed in a loop shape of less than one circumference when viewed from the stacking direction.

7. a first external terminal, a second external terminal, and a third external terminal formed on a surface of the element body; one end of the first coil is electrically connected to the first external terminal; one end of the second coil is electrically connected to the second external terminal; The electronic component according to claim 1 , wherein the other end of the first coil and the other end of the second coil are electrically connected to the third external terminal.

8. the element body has a rectangular bottom surface and a top surface facing each other, and four side surfaces connecting the bottom surface and the top surface, further comprising four external terminals arranged at four corners of the element body when viewed from the stacking direction, 3. The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein each of the four external terminals extends to a bottom surface and two side surfaces adjacent to the corner where the terminal is located.

9. a first capacitor connected to a connection point between the first coil and the second coil; The electronic component according to claim 1 , further comprising: a second capacitor connected in parallel to the first coil and the second coil.

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