Multilayer ceramic capacitors-recent trends

Recently, reduction of production costs with maintaining high reliability is required for wider applications of capacitors. Ni-electrode multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) of BaTiO₃-based dielectrics and AgPd-electrode MLCCs of relaxor materials were developed to meet the requirements. Thinner dielectric layers, miniaturization, and high capacitance are also major requirements for MLCCs. In these circumstances, much effort has been paid in order to achieve higher reliability. Ni-electrode MLCCs are promising way to satisfy the requirements of high capacitance, low cost, and high reliability. Major problems about the reliability were mechanical fracture, degradation of insulation resistance, and capacitance aging. These phenomena are strongly affected by both chemical composition and producing process