Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors With Wave-Like Structures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multilayer ceramic capacitors face limitations in increasing capacitance and maximum voltage due to delamination under stress and the inability to produce complex shapes, leading to reduced specifications and potential device failure.
Innovation Solution
The use of additive manufacturing, such as 3D printing, to create geometrically optimized multilayer ceramic capacitors with wave-like structures that increase surface area within a fixed volume, allowing for more precise and complex shapes that enhance capacitance and structural integrity without voltage-degrading sharp corners.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If traditional planar layers are used in MLCC manufacturing, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the surface area and capacitance are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional two-dimensional planar layers to three-dimensional wave-like structures by introducing vertical undulations. This dimensional change allows the conductor surfaces to extend into the third dimension, dramatically increasing the effective surface area within the same footprint while maintaining manufacturability through controlled geometric patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs curved wave-like surfaces instead of flat planar layers. The sinusoidal or undulating geometry of the conductor layers creates continuous curvature that increases surface area while avoiding sharp corners. This curvature principle allows the conductors to pack more surface area into the same volume without creating stress concentration points.
2Manufacturing precision
If complex shapes are attempted with traditional manufacturing methods, then surface area may increase, but manufacturing precision and structural integrity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing approach from traditional layer-lamination to additive manufacturing techniques that can precisely control geometric parameters. By using digital modeling and controlled material deposition, the system achieves high manufacturing precision for complex wave-like shapes that would be impossible with conventional methods, while the modular nature of additive manufacturing keeps the process manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical lamination and pressing processes with additive manufacturing techniques. This substitution enables the creation of complex three-dimensional geometries with high precision that cannot be achieved through mechanical assembly, as the geometry is directly built layer-by-layer through controlled material deposition rather than forced assembly.
3Reliability
If sharp corners are present in conductor layers, then manufacturing is easier, but voltage rating deteriorates due to electric field concentration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent intentionally introduces asymmetry and irregularity in the form of wave-like undulations throughout the conductor geometry. This controlled asymmetry distributes electric field lines more evenly across the surface, preventing the formation of concentrated field lines at sharp corners. The continuous variation in geometry creates no single point of maximum field concentration, thereby提高ing voltage rating.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts what would traditionally be considered a manufacturing disadvantage (complex curved geometry) into a benefit by using the wave-like shapes to eliminate electric field concentration. The curvature that complicates manufacturing also serves to distribute electric fields evenly, turning the geometric complexity into a reliability advantage that prevents voltage breakdown.
4Quantity of substance
If capacitance is increased through larger surface area, then component size must increase, but device density and integration are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements nesting by placing multiple wave-like conductor structures within the same footprint, with alternating conductors nested between dielectric layers. The wave patterns of adjacent conductors are positioned to maximize overlapping surface area while maintaining electrical isolation, effectively nesting multiple capacitive elements within a compact volume to increase total capacitance without increasing component size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses three-dimensional wave-like structures to pack more capacitive surface area into the same volume. By extending conductors vertically through undulating patterns rather than keeping them flat, the design utilizes the third dimension to increase the effective capacitance-generating surface area without increasing the component's footprint or overall volume.
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 results in higher density components with increased capacitance and voltage ratings, reducing material waste and enabling the production of complex shapes that were previously impossible, thereby improving the specifications and structural integrity of multilayer ceramic capacitors.
Implementation Method 1
ink or aerosol jets deposit material such as, e.g., ceramic slurry, conductive ink, ferrite paste, and carbon resistor paste onto a surface
Implementation Method 2
The aforementioned materials can be sintered at high temperatures, and therefore are amenable to integrated manufacture
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems to improve a multilayer ceramic capacitor using additive manufacturing are disclosed. Layers of a capacitor may be modified from its traditional planar shape to a wavy structure. The wavy shape increases surface area within a fixed volume of the capacitor, thus increasing capacitance, and may comprise smooth and repetitive oscillations without the presence of voltage-degrading sharp corners. In addition, the ends of each conductive layer do not have sharp edges, such as comprising of a round corner. The one-dimensional wave pattern may run parallel to the width of the capacitor, or it may align in parallel to the length of the capacitor. In some embodiments, the wave pattern may be parallel to both the width and the length—in two dimensions—such that it forms an egg-crate shape. Further, the wavy structures may comprise of secondary or tertiary wavy structures to further increase surface area.