The influence of termination properties on the thermal shock and thermal cycle performance of surface mount multilayer ceramic capacitors

The thermal shock and thermal cycle performance of X7R and NPO surface mount multilayer ceramic capacitors terminated with various materials is studied. The type of glass frit used in the termination, the quantity of frit in the termination, and the temperature at which the termination is fired are all found to be important factors. The influence of these factors appears to be related to the reaction between the glass frit and the ceramic dielectric. In general, increasing the amount of frit in the termination improved thermal shock performance, although some frits clearly outperformed others. Thermal cycle performance was found to be more strongly influenced by frit composition, but frit concentration was also important. Termination firing temperature was not studied extensively, but appeared to have a slight effect on thermal shock performance