Multilayer Capacitor Electrode Structure for Field Concentration Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multilayer ceramic capacitors face challenges in controlling the shape and physical properties of internal electrodes, leading to a higher likelihood of dielectric breakdown even under weak electric fields, necessitating improved withstand voltage characteristics at the interface between internal electrodes and dielectric layers.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates additional electrode regions with specific geometric configurations, including additional electrode layers connected to external electrodes with different polarities and strategically positioned to alleviate electric field concentration, satisfying conditions such as 1<d/e≤5 and 0.94≤b/a<1, which helps distribute the electric field effectively without compromising capacitance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the dielectric layer and internal electrode are formed to be thin to achieve smaller capacitor size, then the capacitor size is reduced, but the withstand voltage characteristics deteriorate due to higher electric field concentration at the internal electrode ends
Solution Approach 1:
An additional electrode layer is introduced as an intermediary between the internal electrode and the external electrode. This additional electrode layer has a larger area than the internal electrode end, acting as a mediator to distribute the electric field more evenly and reduce concentration at the internal electrode ends, thereby improving withstand voltage characteristics while maintaining thin dimensions
Solution Approach 2:
The additional electrode layer extends in the planar dimension (parallel to the dielectric layer surface) beyond the boundaries of the internal electrode. By increasing the electrode area in the horizontal dimension rather than increasing thickness vertically, the electric field is distributed over a larger area, reducing field concentration while maintaining the thin-profile design
2Reliability
If the internal electrode shape and physical properties are controlled more precisely to improve withstand voltage, then the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode structure is segmented into two distinct parts: the internal electrode with its standard dimensions and the additional electrode layer with larger area. This segmentation allows the internal electrode to maintain its simple, standard geometry while the additional electrode layer compensates for field concentration issues, thereby improving reliability without increasing the complexity of manufacturing the critical internal electrode components
Data Source
AI summary
A multilayer capacitor includes a body including a multilayer structure in which a plurality of dielectric layers are stacked, a plurality of external electrodes, an active region including a plurality of internal electrodes, and an additional electrode region including a plurality of additional electrode layers. The plurality of additional electrode layers are connected to an external electrode, among the plurality of external electrodes, different from an external electrode which a most adjacent internal electrode among the plurality of internal electrodes of the active region is connected to, and 1<d/e≤5 in which e is a distance between adjacent internal electrodes among the plurality of internal electrodes and d is a distance between an internal electrode, among the plurality of internal electrodes, and an additional electrode layer, among the plurality of additional electrode layers of the additional electrode region, which are most adjacent to each other.