Effect of a BaTiO3 nanoparticle additive on the quality ofthin-film Ni electrodes in MLCC

Abstract

To increase the film quality of the nickel electrode in a multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC), the BaTiO3 particles are usu-ally used as an additive material in the electrode paste. In this report, we investigated the effects of particle size (30-100 nm) and the amount (10-20% mass ratio to Ni) of BaTiO3 nanoparticle additives on the quality of thin-film Ni electrodes, stated by a dry film density and Ni film coverage after a firing process. The use of 30 nm BaTiO3 particles resulted in a high Ni film coverage larger than 75% using only 10 mass% of BaTiO3 additive in the paste. Using larger particle sizes, a greater amount of BaTiO3 additive was needed in order to obtain the same Ni film coverage. The use of a smaller particle size of BaTiO3 nano-particles leads to the increase of particle numbers for the same mass, resulting in effective BaTiO3 nanoparticles surrounded on Ni particles. In addition, by decreasing the amount of BaTiO3 additives, the BaTiO3 absorbance by the dielectric layer was reduced, and, consequently, the increasing of dielectric layer thickness could also be minimized.©2009 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.