Monolithic Ceramic Component Electroplated Outer Electrodes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The reduction in size of monolithic ceramic electronic components leads to deteriorated characteristics, including reduced breakdown voltage, due to the challenges in forming outer electrodes with high accuracy at narrow pitches and the excessive pressing of inner electrodes caused by dummy conductors during the firing process.
Innovation Solution
The use of outer-layer dummy conductors positioned in the outer layer portion, spaced sufficiently away from inner electrodes to prevent excessive pressing, while ensuring the growth of plated films by maintaining a distance b between them, which is preferably less than or equal to 6 μm, to avoid impeding the plated film growth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the size of the monolithic ceramic electronic component is reduced, then the component size is decreased, but the effective area of inner electrodes is reduced and characteristics deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from traditional thick-film paste printing (2D surface application) to electroplating (3D deposition process), enabling precise outer electrode formation that maintains inner electrode effectiveness even in miniaturized components
2Volume of moving object
If a plurality of stripe-shaped outer electrodes is arranged at a narrow pitch to reduce component size, then the component size is decreased, but it is difficult to form the outer electrodes with high accuracy using known methods
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical thick-film paste printing process with an electroplating process, which uses electrical current to deposit metal precisely on exposed inner electrode portions, achieving high accuracy even at narrow pitches
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the formation method parameters from paste thickness and printing resolution to electroplating current density and deposition time, enabling precise control of outer electrode dimensions and position
3Reliability
If dummy conductors are provided in the outer layer portion to ensure reliable plated metal growth, then plated metal growth is improved, but the inner electrodes are excessively pressed during the pressing step and the distance between inner electrodes is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the harmful dummy conductors from the outer layer portion, retaining only the essential inner electrodes and outer electrodes, thereby eliminating the excessive pressing problem while maintaining reliable plated metal growth through direct plating on inner electrodes
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach prevents the degradation of reliability, such as reduced breakdown voltage, by maintaining the distance between inner electrodes and ensuring reliable plated film growth, thereby enhancing the performance of monolithic ceramic electronic components.
Implementation Method 1
a first outer electrode disposed on the outer surface of the ceramic base element and including a plated film that directly covers an exposed portion of the first lead-out portion
Data Source
AI summary
In a monolithic ceramic electronic component, where a distance in the height direction between one of outer-layer dummy conductors in an outer layer portion, which is arranged closest to an inner layer portion, and one of inner electrodes in the inner layer portion, which is arranged closest to the outer layer portion, is b, and an opposing distance between an adjacent pair of first inner electrodes and second inner electrodes in the height direction is t, 2t≦b is satisfied, such that the outer-layer dummy conductors can be spaced a sufficient distance away from the inner electrodes, and such that the distance between the inner electrodes can be prevented from being reduced when the inner electrodes arranged in overlapping relation to the outer-layer dummy conductors are pressed in a pressing step before firing, and a reduction of BDV can be prevented.