JPH09219339A - Method and apparatus for manufacturing layered ceramic electronic component - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate a step formed by the thickness of a conductive film which will become an inner electrode and thereby prevent cracks at the time of baking by forming a ceramic green sheet which has ceramic paste applied on its principal plane by an ink jet method in order to eliminate a step formed by the thickness of an inner circuit element film and then stacking the ceramic green sheets. SOLUTION: Condutive films 2a and 2b, inner circuit element films, which will become inner electrodes are partially formed on principal planes of ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b. Nextly, ceramic paste 4a and 4b are applied by an ink jet method onto parts of the principal planes of the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b where the conductive films 2a and 2b are not formed to eliminate steps 3a and 3b formed by the thickness of the conductive films 2a and 2b. Then, the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b are alternately stacked to form a laminate 5. The laminate 5 is pressed, if necessary, and then is baked.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a monolithic ceramic electronic component such as a monolithic ceramic capacitor, a monolithic inductor, a multi-layer circuit board, and a monolithic piezoelectric component. A step of stacking a plurality of ceramic green sheets partially formed with internal circuit element films such as a film;
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor, a plurality of ceramic green sheets are prepared and these ceramic green sheets are stacked. Internal circuit elements such as conductive films and resistive films for forming capacitors, resistors, inductors, varistors, filters, etc. are formed on a specific ceramic green sheet according to the function of the multilayer ceramic electronic component to be obtained. A film is formed.

In such a multilayer ceramic electronic component, in order to realize miniaturization and high performance, the ceramic green sheets are being thinned and multi-layered. However, as the ceramic green sheets are made thinner and more laminated, the thickness of the internal circuit element film has a greater influence, causing the following problems.

That is, for example, JP-A-56-9471
As described in the prior art in Japanese Patent Publication No. 9, a conductive film as an internal circuit element film is formed on a ceramic green sheet and these ceramic green sheets are stacked to form a part where the conductive film is formed. Since the step difference due to the thickness of the conductive film is accumulated between the part that is not formed,
As shown in FIG. 3 of this publication, an inclined surface was formed on the surface of the laminated body, and cracks sometimes occurred at this portion in the subsequent firing step.

In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
In the invention described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-94719, it is proposed to dispose a separately prepared ceramic green sheet in a region where the conductive film is not formed on the ceramic green sheet, thereby eliminating the step on the ceramic green sheet. doing. The publication also proposes applying a ceramic paste to a region of the ceramic green sheet where the conductive film is not formed, by a method such as printing, spraying or dipping.

[0006]

However, the invention described in JP-A-56-94719 mentioned above has the following problems. In the method of arranging a separately prepared ceramic green sheet in the area where the conductive film is not formed on the ceramic green sheet and eliminating the step,
In view of the handling of the latter ceramic green sheet, there is a limit in taking an advantageous means for thinning and multi-layering such as reducing the thickness and increasing the number of layers.

In the case of the immersion method, the production efficiency is low and automation cannot be applied. In the case of the spray method, it is difficult to apply the ceramic paste to the desired area, and the ceramic paste is applied to the undesired area. Even in the case of the printing method, there is a limit in applying the ceramic paste to a desired region with a desired thinness.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component which can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component according to the present invention partially forms an internal circuit element film so as to cause a step due to its thickness. A step of preparing a ceramic green sheet having a main surface, and a step of applying a ceramic paste by an inkjet method on the main surface of the ceramic green sheet so as to substantially eliminate the step due to the thickness of the internal circuit element film, Stacking the ceramic green sheets to which the ceramic paste has been applied.

In the step of applying the ceramic paste on the main surface of each ceramic green sheet by the ink jet method, which is carried out to substantially eliminate the step due to the thickness of the internal circuit element film, the ceramic green sheet is used. Even if the ceramic paste is applied only to the area where the internal circuit element film is not formed on the main surface of the ceramic paste, the ceramic paste is applied to both the area where the internal circuit element film is formed and the area where the internal circuit element film is not formed. May be given. In the latter case, in the area where the internal circuit element film is formed, as compared with the area where the internal circuit element film is not formed, the ceramic paste is applied thinly by a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the internal circuit element film, As a result, it is possible to substantially eliminate the step due to the thickness of the internal circuit element film.

In addition, in the step of stacking the ceramic green sheets, a plurality of ceramic green sheets to which the ceramic paste is applied must be prepared. However, internal circuit elements are provided in each of the plurality of ceramic green sheets having a predetermined shape prepared in advance. The film may be formed and the ceramic paste may be applied, or the internal circuit element film may be formed and the ceramic paste may be applied to one ceramic green sheet, and immediately before the stacking step, it is divided into a predetermined shape by cutting, You may obtain the several ceramic green sheet to which the ceramic paste was applied.

On the other hand, in the manufacturing apparatus for a multilayer ceramic electronic component according to the present invention, the internal circuit element film is formed on the main surface of the ceramic green sheet partially formed so that the internal circuit element film causes a step due to the thickness of the internal circuit element film. It is characterized by comprising ceramic paste applying means for applying a ceramic paste for substantially eliminating a step due to the thickness of the film by an inkjet method.

[0013]

According to the present invention, in order to substantially eliminate the step due to the thickness of the internal circuit element film, the ceramic paste is applied by using the ink jet method, so that the desired thickness ( The thinness allows the ceramic paste to be applied accurately and efficiently.
Therefore, it is possible to cope with thinning and multi-layering by preventing cracks from being generated in the firing stage, and thus it is possible to efficiently manufacture a multilayer ceramic electronic component having excellent performance.

The method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component according to the present invention can be carried out as follows. That is, in this manufacturing method, a step of preparing a long composite body in which a ceramic green sheet is continuously formed on a long carrier film in the longitudinal direction thereof, and the long composite body While maintaining the above-mentioned form, a step of successively leading to the internal circuit element film applying station, the ceramic paste applying station, and the punching station is carried out. Then, in the internal circuit element film applying station, the internal circuit element film having a predetermined thickness is applied to the main surface of the ceramic green sheet at a plurality of locations distributed in the longitudinal direction, and in the ceramic paste applying station, the internal circuit element film is applied. Ceramic paste was applied on the main surface of the ceramic green sheet by an inkjet method so that the step due to the thickness of the element film was substantially eliminated, and the ceramic green sheet was aligned with the internal circuit element film at the punching station. Then, the sheets are sequentially punched into a predetermined size and peeled from the carrier film, whereby a plurality of predetermined size ceramic green sheets to be stacked for the multilayer ceramic electronic component are taken out.

The present invention also provides the following manufacturing apparatus for carrying out the manufacturing method described above. That is, the manufacturing apparatus supplies a long composite body in which a ceramic green sheet is continuously formed on a long carrier film in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a long supply source supplied from the supply source. The internal circuit element film applying station for applying the internal circuit element film having a predetermined thickness on the main surface of the ceramic green sheet to a plurality of locations distributed in the longitudinal direction, and the internal circuit element. A ceramic paste is applied onto the main surface of a ceramic green sheet by an ink jet method so that a step due to the thickness of an internal circuit element film is substantially removed from a long composite that has passed through a film application station. For the paste application station and the long composite that has passed through the ceramic paste application station, , The ceramic green sheets are sequentially punched into a predetermined size in a state of being aligned with the internal circuit element film, and peeled from the carrier film, whereby a plurality of predetermined sizes to be stacked for the multilayer ceramic electronic component. And a punching station for taking out the ceramic green sheet.

As described above, according to the method and apparatus for manufacturing a laminated ceramic electronic component that handles a long composite, the productivity of the laminated ceramic electronic component is further improved. Further, since the steps up to punching are carried out in the state where the ceramic green sheet is lined with the carrier film, the thinner ceramic green sheet can be easily handled, and in this respect also, it contributes to thinning and multi-layering. Thus, it becomes easy to obtain a high performance multilayer ceramic electronic component. In particular, when the manufactured multilayer ceramic electronic component is a multilayer ceramic capacitor, it is possible to easily realize miniaturization and high capacity.

[0017]

1 is a view for explaining a method of manufacturing a laminated ceramic electronic component according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a monolithic ceramic capacitor is manufactured as a monolithic ceramic electronic component. Ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b are prepared as shown in FIGS. 1 (1A) and 1 (B), respectively.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 (2A) and (2B), conductive films 2a and 2b serving as internal electrodes as internal circuit element films are partially formed on the main surfaces of the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b. Formed. These conductive films 2a and 2b each have a predetermined thickness, and steps 3a and 3b due to this thickness are formed on the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 (3A) and 1 (3B), ceramics are formed on the main surfaces of the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b by ink jetting in the regions where the conductive films 2a and 2b are not formed. Pastes 4a and 4b are applied. As a result, FIG.
The steps 3a and 3b formed by the conductive films 2a and 2b shown in (2A) and (2B) are substantially eliminated.

The above-mentioned ceramic pastes 4a and 4
For b, it is preferable to use a solvent incompatible with the binder in the conductive paste so as not to dissolve the binder in the conductive paste that provides the conductive films 2a and 2b. Further, as the above-mentioned inkjet method, for example, a charge control method or a drop-on-demand method can be used.

In the charging control method, the pattern to be sprayed is divided into pixels in a dot matrix, the ceramic paste particles are charged with a voltage proportional to the positional information of each pixel, and the ceramic paste particles are deflected by an electrostatic field to be sprayed on the target object. By reaching a predetermined area of a certain ceramic green sheet 1a and 1b, the ceramic paste is sprayed on the main surface of the ceramic green sheet 1a and 1b in a predetermined pattern.

On the other hand, in the drop-on-demand system, a pattern to be sprayed is divided into pixels in a dot matrix, and a predetermined nozzle of a nozzle assembly having a plurality of nozzles is arbitrarily selected according to position information of each pixel. It is possible to spray the ceramic paste in a predetermined pattern on the main surfaces of the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b by opening the ceramic paste at a timing and allowing the ceramic paste to reach a predetermined area of the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b, which is an object to be sprayed. Done.

Further, in the steps shown in FIGS. 1 (3A) and (3B), the ceramic pastes 4a and 4b are applied only to the regions on the main surfaces of the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b where the conductive films 2a and 2b are not formed. Although applied, the ceramic paste may be applied to both the region where the conductive films 2a and 2b are formed and the region where the conductive films 2a and 2b are not formed. In this case, in the region where the conductive films 2a and 2b are formed, the ceramic paste is applied thinner than the region where the conductive films 2a and 2b are not formed by a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the conductive films 2a and 2b. As a result, the steps 3a and 3b due to the thickness of the conductive films 2a and 2b are substantially eliminated, but such thickness control can be performed relatively easily by the inkjet method. You can In addition, in terms of thinning, FIG. 1 (3A)
As shown in (3B) and (3B) respectively, it is preferable to apply the ceramic pastes 4a and 4b only to the regions where the conductive films 2a and 2b are not formed on the main surfaces of the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b.

Next, the ceramic green sheets 1a and 1b shown in FIGS. 1 (3A) and (3B), respectively, are stacked alternately, whereby a laminate 5 is obtained as shown in FIG. 1 (4). . The layered product 5 is pressed as needed and then fired. Then, by forming external electrodes on both ends of the laminated body 5, a desired laminated ceramic capacitor is completed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in order to substantially eliminate the steps 3a and 3b due to the thickness of the conductive films 2a and 2b, the ceramic pastes 4a and 4b are applied by the ink jet method. It is possible to apply the ceramic pastes 4a and 4b to a desired area with a desired thickness (thinness) with high accuracy and efficiency. Therefore, it is possible to deal with thinning and multi-layering by preventing cracks from being generated in the firing stage, and therefore it is possible to efficiently manufacture a monolithic ceramic capacitor having excellent performance.

FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing a manufacturing apparatus 6 for a laminated ceramic electronic component, for explaining a method for manufacturing a laminated ceramic electronic component according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows the manufacturing apparatus 6 shown in FIG.
It is a perspective view which shows a part of. Also in this embodiment, a monolithic ceramic capacitor is manufactured as a monolithic ceramic electronic component.

In the manufacturing apparatus 6, first, a supply reel 10 which is a supply source for supplying a long composite 9 in which a ceramic green sheet 8 is continuously formed on a long carrier film 7 in the longitudinal direction is provided. Prepare Supply reel 1
The composite body 9 pulled out from 0 is guided to each subsequent station with the ceramic green sheet 8 facing upward. The composite 9 supplied from the supply reel 10 is
It is desirable that the tension be controlled and that the position in the width direction be controlled.

The composite body 9 is then guided to the ceramic green sheet defect detecting section 11. Here, the defect of the ceramic green sheet 8 is visually detected or detected by the optical detector 12, and the information is sent to the controller 13. The composite body 9 is then guided to the conductive film application station 14. The conductive film applying station 14 is provided with a conveyor 15 for transporting the composite body 9, a reciprocating slider having a suction mechanism, a suction roll, or the like. In this conductive film applying station 14,
On the main surface of the ceramic green sheet 8 included in the composite body 9, the conductive film 16 is printed with a conductive paste at a plurality of locations distributed in the longitudinal direction at a constant pitch. Screen printing is used for this printing, for example. Therefore, above the conveyor 15, a screen 17, a scraper 18 for spreading the conductive paste on the screen 17, and a squeegee 19 for applying the conductive paste to the main surface of the ceramic green sheet 8 through the screen 17 are arranged.

When the ceramic green sheet defect detection unit 11 detects that the ceramic green sheet 8 has a defect, the conductive film 16 is not printed on such a defective portion. Preferably. Further, at the conductive film applying station 14, the alignment mark may be printed at the same time as the printing of the conductive film 16. Further, the conductive film 16 may be formed by an inkjet method instead of printing.

Next, the composite body 9 has a printing defect detecting section 20.
It is led to. Here, the above-mentioned defective printing is visually detected or detected by the optical detector 21, and the information is input to the controller 13. The controller 13
The operation in the punching station 22, which will be described later, is controlled so that the defective print portion is not used when the ceramic green sheets 8 are stacked. In this case, the printing shortage due to the unused portion is automatically additionally printed and corrected.

The composite 9 is then transferred to the drying station 2
It is led to 3. In the drying station 23, a drying oven 25 including a hot air nozzle 24 that applies warm air to the upper surface of the composite body 9 from above and a hot platen (not shown) that heats from the lower surface of the composite body 9 is arranged. In addition, infrared may be used in the drying station 23. In the drying station 23, the conductive film 16 applied in the conductive film applying station 14 is dried.

The composite 9 is then guided to the ceramic paste application station 26. Details of the ceramic paste application station 26 are shown in FIG. The ceramic paste applying station 26 is provided with an ink jet device 27 of a drop-on-demand type, for example. The inkjet device 27 includes a nozzle assembly 28 that is disposed so as to face the ceramic green sheet 8 and extends over the entire width direction thereof. The nozzle assembly 28 is provided with a plurality of nozzles. While the composite 9 is being conveyed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3, the ceramic paste 30 supplied from the spraying device 29 is supplied from the predetermined nozzle of the nozzle assembly 28 at a predetermined timing to the main surface of the ceramic green sheet 8. By being sprayed toward, the film of the ceramic paste 30 is formed on the main surface of the ceramic green sheet 8 in the region where the conductive film 16 is not formed so as to substantially eliminate the step due to the thickness of the conductive film 16. It

Also in this embodiment, as in the case of the above-described embodiment, in the region where the conductive film 16 is formed, the ceramic paste is thinner than the applied thickness of the ceramic paste in the region where the conductive film 16 is not formed. It may be given. The composite 9 is then guided to the second drying station 31. In the second drying station 31, as in the above-described drying station 23, a hot air nozzle 32 that applies warm air to the upper surface of the composite 9 from above and a heating plate that heats from the lower surface of the composite 9 (not shown). ) Is provided. This second drying station 3
1, the ceramic paste applying station 2
The ceramic paste 30 applied in 6 is dried.

Next, the composite 9 forms the dancer roll 34.
Wrapped around. This controls the tension of the composite body 9 between the ceramic paste applying station 26 and the punching station 22 described later, and the feeding amount of the composite body 9 in the ceramic paste applying station 26 and the composite amount in the punching station 22 are controlled. The difference from the feeding amount of the body 9 is absorbed. This difference in the feed amount is not accumulated because the punching at the punching station 22 is performed with the printed conductive film 16 and the alignment mark as the reference.

The composite body 9 is then guided to the punching station 22. At the punching station 22, a conveyor 35 for conveying the composite 9 and a conveyor 35
And a pickup device 36 disposed above the composite body 9 via the composite body 9. The pickup device 36 includes a cutting blade 37 for forming a closed cutting line on the ceramic green sheet 8. The pickup device 36 is
It is provided so as to be close to and away from the conveyor 35, and is configured to adsorb the ceramic green sheet 8 based on vacuum suction. On the other hand, the conveyor 35
It is configured to adsorb the carrier film 7 based on vacuum suction.

In such a structure, when the pickup device 36 approaches the conveyor 35, a cutting line having a closed shape is formed on the ceramic green sheet 8 while being aligned with the conductive film 16 by the cutting blade 37. To be done. At this time, the carrier film 7 is made not to have at least a cutting line penetrating therethrough. The pickup device 36 is then separated from the conveyor 35. As a result, the ceramic green sheet 8 of a predetermined size surrounded by the cutting line is taken out by peeling it from the carrier film 7, and the ceramic green sheet 8 of a predetermined size is held by the pickup device 36. . Next, the pickup device 36 uses the ceramic green sheet 8 of a predetermined size.
While being held, the ceramic green sheets 8 are moved above a stacking table (not shown), and the ceramic green sheets 8 are stacked and pressed on the ceramic green sheets 8 placed in front. Such a pickup device 3
By repeating the operation of 6, the laminated body including the desired number of laminated ceramic green sheets 8 is obtained.

The above-mentioned stacking may be performed in the space surrounded by the cutting blade 37 of the pickup device 36. The laminated body thus obtained is pressed and further cut if necessary, and then fired, and then external electrodes are formed at both ends of the laminated body to obtain a desired laminated ceramic capacitor. Is completed.

In the punching station 22, as described above, the composite body 9 after the ceramic green sheet 8 of a predetermined size is taken out is taken up by the take-up reel 38 while its tension is controlled. According to this embodiment, the productivity of the monolithic ceramic capacitor is further improved as compared with the above-described embodiments. Moreover, since the steps up to punching are performed in a state where the ceramic green sheet 8 is lined with the carrier film 7, it becomes easy to handle the thinner ceramic green sheet 8, and the multilayer ceramic capacitor can be made smaller and have a higher capacity. Can contribute more.

Although the present invention has been described above mainly with reference to the manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for a monolithic ceramic capacitor according to the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to a monolithic ceramic capacitor, but a resistor, an inductor, a varistor, a filter, etc. The present invention can be applied to a multilayer ceramic electronic component that functions as the above and a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which these functional elements are combined.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the internal circuit element film is the conductive film for the internal electrode, but as described above, the present invention is applicable to various laminated ceramic electronic parts having arbitrary functions. Therefore, various modes are conceivable as the internal circuit element film. For example, the internal circuit element film may be a circuit element film having good electrical conductivity such as a conductive film, or may be a circuit element film having relatively large electrical resistance or other electrical characteristics. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a method for manufacturing a monolithic ceramic capacitor as a monolithic ceramic electronic component according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a monolithic ceramic capacitor as a monolithic ceramic electronic component according to another embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing a ceramic paste applying station 26 shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a, 1b, 8 Ceramic green sheets 2a, 2b, 16 Conductive films 3a, 3b Steps 4a, 4b, 30 Ceramic paste 5 Laminated body 6 Manufacturing device 7 Carrier film 9 Complex 10 Supply reel 14 Conductive film applying station 22 Punching station 26 Ceramic paste applying station 27 Inkjet device 28 Nozzle assembly 29 Spraying device 36 Pickup device 37 Cutting blade

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A ceramic green sheet having a main surface partially formed so that an internal circuit element film causes a step due to its thickness is prepared, and the step due to the thickness of the internal circuit element film is substantially eliminated. And a ceramic paste is applied to the main surface of the ceramic green sheet by an inkjet method, and the ceramic green sheets to which the ceramic paste is applied are stacked. 2. A long composite body in which ceramic green sheets are continuously formed on a long carrier film in the longitudinal direction thereof is prepared, and the long composite body is maintained in its long form. As it is,
Sequentially, each step of continuously leading to an internal circuit element film applying station, a ceramic paste applying station, and a punching station is provided. In the internal circuit element film applying station, a predetermined surface is provided on the main surface of the ceramic green sheet. The internal circuit element film having a thickness is applied to a plurality of locations distributed in the longitudinal direction, and in the ceramic paste applying station,
A ceramic paste is applied on the main surface of the ceramic green sheet by an inkjet method so as to substantially eliminate a step due to the thickness of the internal circuit element film, and in the punching station, the ceramic green sheet is the internal circuit. A plurality of ceramic green sheets of a predetermined size to be stacked for the multilayer ceramic electronic component, which are sequentially punched into a predetermined size in a state of being aligned with the element film and peeled from the carrier film. A method for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component, in which is obtained. 3. A ceramic for substantially eliminating a step due to the thickness of the internal circuit element film on the main surface of a ceramic green sheet partially formed so that the internal circuit element film causes the step. An apparatus for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component, comprising ceramic paste applying means for applying a paste by an inkjet method. 4. A supply source for supplying a long composite body in which a ceramic green sheet is continuously formed on a long carrier film in the longitudinal direction thereof, and the long composite material supplied from the supply source. An internal circuit element film applying station for applying an internal circuit element film having a predetermined thickness on the main surface of the ceramic green sheet to the composite at a plurality of locations distributed in the longitudinal direction, and the internal circuit element. A ceramic paste is applied onto the main surface of the ceramic green sheet by an ink jet method so as to substantially eliminate a step due to the thickness of the internal circuit element film with respect to the long composite that has passed through the film application station. Performing the ceramic paste application station, and the long length passing through the ceramic paste application station For the composite of, the ceramic green sheet is sequentially punched into a predetermined size in a state of being aligned with the internal circuit element film, and peeled off from the carrier film, thereby producing a multilayer ceramic electronic component. An apparatus for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component, comprising: a punching station for taking out a plurality of ceramic green sheets having a predetermined size to be stacked.