Patent Publication Number: US-10334731-B2

Title: Capacitor component

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/407,826, filed on Jan. 17, 2017 claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0076856, filed on Jun. 20, 2016 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entireties of each of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a capacitor component. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC), a capacitor component, is a condenser in the form of a chip serving to charge or discharge electricity while mounted on a printed circuit board of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) , a Plasma Display Panel (PDP), or the like, of various electronic products such as video cameras, computers, smartphones, mobile phones, and the like. 
     An MLCC may be used as a component of various electronic devices since an MLCC is small, ensures high capacity, and is easily mounted. 
     A power supply device for a central processing unit (CPU) of a computer or the like may have a problem where voltage noise occurs due to a rapid change in a load current while a low voltage is provided. MLCCs have been widely used in power supply devices for the use of a decoupling capacitor for suppressing voltage noise. When using an MLCC for decoupling or the like, attempts have been made to reduce impedance in a wide band. 
     SUMMARY 
     An aspect of the present disclosure provides a capacitor component having a plurality of resonance frequencies to effectively control impedance in a wide frequency band. Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a component having a reduced size by including the capacitor component described above. 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a novel capacitor component includes a body including a plurality of dielectric layers having a stacked structure and a plurality of first and second internal electrodes alternately disposed with the dielectric layers disposed therebetween. A first external electrode is on a first surface and a second surface of the body, on the opposing side of the body, and connected to the plurality of first internal electrodes. A second external electrode is on a third surface and a fourth surface of the body, opposing each other, and connected to the plurality of second internal electrodes. The capacitor component may be divided into a plurality of capacitor units, each of which include a portion of the plurality of first internal electrodes and a portion of the plurality of second internal electrodes. The plurality of capacitor units include a first capacitor unit and a second capacitor unit. The first capacitor unit has a structure of a through-type capacitor in which the first internal electrodes are connected to the first external electrode by a lead out portion exposed to the first surface and the second surface. 
     At least a portion of the plurality of capacitor units may generate different resonance frequencies from those of a remaining portion thereof. 
     The first internal electrodes included in the second capacitor unit may be connected to the first external electrode by a lead out portion exposed to at least one of the first surface and the second surface. 
     A lead out portion of the first internal electrodes in the first capacitor unit may have a width greater than that of a lead out portion of the first internal electrode included in the second capacitor unit. 
     A lead out portion of the first internal electrodes in the second capacitor unit may be disposed in a position to one side of a center line of the first internal electrode. 
     A lead out portion of the second internal electrodes in the second capacitor unit may be disposed in a position to one side of a center line of the second internal electrode. 
     A lead out portion of the second internal electrodes in the second capacitor unit may be disposed in a position to one side of a center line of the second internal electrode in a direction away from the lead out portions of the first internal electrode in the second capacitor unit. 
     The second internal electrodes in the first capacitor unit maybe connected to the second external electrode through a lead out portion exposed to the third surface and the fourth surface. 
     The second internal electrodes in the second capacitor unit maybe connected to the second external electrode through a lead out portion exposed to at least one of the third surface and the fourth surface. 
     A lead out portion of the second internal electrodes in the first capacitor unit may have a width greater than that of a lead out portion of the second internal electrodes in the second capacitor unit. 
     The second capacitor unit may be above the first capacitor unit. 
     In the body, a marking unit indicating a mounting direction of the capacitor component may be formed therein. 
     The marking unit may be formed of ceramic, a different material from that of a different region of the body. 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a mounting structure of a capacitor component includes a capacitor component that includes a body including a plurality of dielectric layers having a stacked structure and a plurality of first and second internal electrodes alternately disposed with the dielectric layers disposed therebetween. A first external electrode is on a first surface and a second surface of the body, on the opposing side of the body, and connected to the plurality of first internal electrodes. A second external electrode is on a third surface and a fourth surface of the body, opposing each other, and connected to the plurality of second internal electrodes. The capacitor component is divided into a plurality of capacitor units, each of which includes a portion of the plurality of first internal electrodes and a portion of the plurality of second internal electrodes. The plurality of capacitor units include a first capacitor unit and a second capacitor unit. The mounting structure of a capacitor component includes a mounting substrate on which the capacitor component is disposed. The first capacitor unit is a through-type capacitor in which the first internal electrodes are connected to the first external electrode by a lead out portion exposed to the first surface and the second surface. 
     In the capacitor component, the first capacitor unit may be disposed to oppose the mounting substrate. 
     The mounting substrate may include three circuit patterns connected to the first external electrode and the second external electrode. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view schematically illustrating a capacitor component according to an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view schematically illustrating a form of a body in the capacitor component of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view schematically illustrating a form of a first internal electrode and a second internal electrode included in a first capacitor unit in the capacitor component of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view schematically illustrating a form of a first internal electrode and a second internal electrode included in a second capacitor unit in the capacitor component of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a form in which a capacitor component according to an exemplary embodiment is mounted on a substrate; 
         FIG. 6  is a graph illustrating impedance characteristics of a capacitor component obtained according to an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view schematically illustrating a capacitor component of a modified example; 
         FIG. 8  is a plan view schematically illustrating a form of a first internal electrode included in a second capacitor unit in a capacitor component according to a modified example; and 
         FIG. 9  is a plan view schematically illustrating a form of a second internal electrode included in a second capacitor unit in a capacitor component according to a modified example. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described as follows with reference to the attached drawings. 
     The present disclosure may, however, be exemplified in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the specific embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. 
     Throughout the specification, it will be understood that when an element, such as a layer, region or wafer (substrate) , is referred to as being “on,” “above,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element, it can be directly “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” the other element or other elements intervening therebetween may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element, there may be no other elements or layers intervening therebetween. Like numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
     It will be apparent that though the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various members, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these members, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one member, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first member, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second member, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the exemplary embodiments. 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “above,” “upper,” “below,” and “lower” and the like, maybe used herein for ease of description to describe one element&#39;s relationship relative to another element(s) as shown in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “above,” or “upper” relative to other elements would then be oriented “below,” or “lower” relative to the other elements or features. Thus, the term “above” can encompass both the above and below orientations depending on a particular direction of the figures. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may be interpreted accordingly. 
     The terminology used herein describes particular embodiments only, and the present disclosure is not limited thereby. 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to schematic views illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure. In the drawings, for example, due to manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, modifications of the shape shown may be estimated. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the particular shapes of regions shown herein, for example, to include a change in shape results in manufacturing. The following embodiments may also be constituted by one or a combination thereof. 
     The contents of the present disclosure described below may have a variety of configurations and propose only a required configuration herein, but are not limited thereto. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view schematically illustrating a capacitor component according to an exemplary embodiment.  FIG. 2  is a perspective view schematically illustrating a form of a body in the capacitor component of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3  is a plan view schematically illustrating a form of a first internal electrode and a second internal electrode included in a first capacitor unit in the capacitor component of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 4  is a plan view schematically illustrating a form of a first internal electrode and a second internal electrode included in a second capacitor unit in the capacitor component of  FIG. 1 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 4 , the capacitor component  100  according to an exemplary embodiment may include a body  101 , first internal electrodes  121  and  123 , second internal electrodes  122  and  124 , first external electrodes  141  and  142 , and second external electrodes  151  and  152 . The capacitor component may be divided into a plurality of capacitor units C 1  and C 2 , and each of the plurality of capacitor units C 1  and C 2  includes a portion of a plurality of first and second internal electrodes  121  to  124 . The first capacitor unit C 1  may form a through-type capacitor in which first internal electrodes  121  are connected to the first external electrodes  141  and  142  through lead out portions R 1  and R 2 . The plurality of capacitor units include the first capacitor unit C 1  and second capacitor unit C 2 , but may include one or more additional capacitor units. 
     The first external electrodes  141  and  142  may respectively be formed on at least the first surface S 1  and the second surface S 2  of the body  101  opposing each other, to be connected to the first internal electrodes  121  and  123 . The first external electrode  141  is on the first surface S 1 , and the first external electrode  142  is on the second surface S 2 . The first surface S 1  and the third surface S 3  may be perpendicular to each other, whereby the body  101  may have a rectangular parallelepiped or a shape similar thereto. 
     The second external electrodes  151  and  152  may respective be formed on at least one of the third surface S 3  and the fourth surface S 4  of the body  101 , which surfaces connect the first surface S 1  to the second surface S 2  and oppose each other, and connected to the second internal electrodes  122  and  124 . The second external electrodes  151  and  152  may have a 4-terminal structure formed on all of the third surface S 3  and the fourth surface S 4 . As will be described later, the capacitor component  100  may be disposed to allow the first capacitor unit C 1  to oppose a mounting substrate. The first surface S 1  and the fourth surface S 4  may be perpendicular to the mounting substrate. 
     The body  101  may include a plurality of dielectric layers  110  having a stacked structure, and first internal electrodes and second internal electrodes  121  to  124  alternately disposed with dielectric layers  110  disposed therebetween. The dielectric layers  110  included in the body  101  may be formed of a dielectric material known in the art such as ceramic or the like, for example, BaTiO 3  (barium titanate) -based ceramic powder or the like. In this case, BaTiO 3 -based ceramic powder may be, for example, (Ba 1-x Ca x ) TiO 3 , Ba (Ti 1-y Ca y )O 3 , (Ba 1-x Ca x ) (Ti 1-y Zr y )O 3  or Ba (Ti 1-y Zr y )O 3 , in which calcium (Ca) , zirconium (Zr) or the like is added to BaTiO 3 , but are not limited thereto. 
     As described above, the first capacitor unit C 1  and the second capacitor unit C 2  can have different resonance frequencies to improve noise removal when the capacitor component  100  is applied as a filter or the like. In this case, the first capacitor unit C 1  is provided as a 3-terminal type and through-type capacitor, and the second capacitor unit C 2  is provided as a 2-terminal type capacitor. The second capacitor unit C 2  may have relatively high direct current equivalent inductance (ESL). An external terminal configuration such as a 3-terminal structure, a 2-terminal or the like, exemplified in an exemplary embodiment, may be modified in a range to maintain the technical idea of the exemplary embodiment. Hereinafter, specific configurations with respect to the first capacitor unit C 1  and the second capacitor unit C 2  will be described. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 to 4 , the first capacitor unit C 1  is a through-type capacitor in which the first internal electrodes  121  are connected to the first external electrodes  141  and  142  through the lead out portions R 1  and R 2  respectively exposed to the first surface S 1  and the second surface S 2 . The second internal electrodes  122  in the first capacitor unit C 1  may be connected to the second external electrodes  151  and  152  through lead out portions R 3  and R 4  respectively exposed to the third surface S 3  and the fourth surface S 4 . 
     A width W 1  of the lead out portions R 1  and R 2  of the first internal electrodes  121  included in the first capacitor unit C 1  can be greater than a width W 3  of a lead out portion R 5  of the first internal electrodes  123  included in the second capacitor unit C 2 . In the first capacitor unit C 1  and the second capacitor unit C 2 , widths of lead out portions of the first internal electrodes  121  and  123  can be different from each other to allow lead out portions R 5  and R 6  of the first internal electrode  123  and the second internal electrode  124  in the second capacitor unit C 2  to be relatively spaced away from each other so as to increase ESL. Thus, resonance frequencies may be generated in a low frequency side by the second capacitor unit C 2 . A width of the first internal electrodes  121  included in the first capacitor unit C 1  can be the same as a width W 1  of the lead out portions R 1  and R 2 , but the width W 1  of the lead out portions R 1  and R 2  may be less than a width of the first internal electrodes  121 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the first internal electrode  123  included in the second capacitor unit C 2  may be connected to the first external electrodes  142  through the lead out portion R 5  exposed to at least one of the first surface S 1  and the second surface S 2 . The first internal electrode may have a form in which the lead out portion R 5  is only led out to the second surface S 2 . The second internal electrodes  124  included in the second capacitor unit C 2  may be connected to the second external electrodes  151  and  152  through the lead out portion R 6  exposed to at least one of the third surface S 3  and the fourth surface S 4 . The second internal electrodes may have a form in which the lead out portion R 6  is only formed in the fourth surface S 4 . 
     The lead out portion R 5  of the first internal electrodes  123  in the second capacitor unit C 2  may be disposed in a position to one side of a center line CL of the first internal electrodes  123  in one direction (based on  FIG. 4 ). The lead out portion R 6  of the second internal electrodes  124  in the second capacitor unit C 2  may be disposed in a position to one side of the center line CL of the second internal electrodes  124 , and may be disposed in a position to a side of the center line CL of the first internal electrodes  123  in a direction away from the lead out portion R 5 . With a structure as described above, the lead out portions R 5  and R 6  are spaced apart from each other to relatively increase ESL of the second capacitor unit C 2 . Thus, the second capacitor unit C 2  may allow resonance frequencies on a low frequency side to be generated. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a width W 2  of the lead out portions R 3  and RA of the second internal electrodes  122  in the first capacitor unit C 1  can be greater than a width W 4  of the lead out portion R 6  of the second internal electrodes  124  in the second capacitor unit C 2 . With a structure as described above, ESL of the second capacitor unit C 2  is increased to promote generation of resonance frequencies on a low-frequency side. 
     In the capacitor component  100  having a structure as described above, the first capacitor unit C 1  is provided as a through-type capacitor having low ESL to generate resonance frequencies in a high-frequency side, and the second capacitor unit C 2  has high ESL to generate resonance frequencies on a low-frequency side. The second capacitor unit C 2  is disposed on the first capacitor unit C 1 . In this case, the first capacitor unit C 1  may be disposed to be closer to a mounting substrate as compared to the second capacitor unit C 2  to more effectively exhibit lower ESL characteristics. 
     The capacitor component  100  may be mounted as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , to obtain a capacitor mounting structure. In the capacitor component  100 , the first capacitor unit C 1  opposes the mounting substrate  160 , and the mounting substrate  160  may include three circuit patterns  161  connected to the first external electrodes  141  and  142  as well as second external electrodes  151  and  152  of the capacitor component  100 . A solder  162  may be provided to stably mount the capacitor component  100 . The capacitor component  100  may be disposed in a horizontal mounting method, that is, with the first internal electrodes  121  and  122  as well as second internal electrodes  123  and  124  parallel to a mounting surface. In a manner similar to the capacitor mounting structure in  FIG. 5 , the first capacitor unit C 1  with low ESL can be disposed to be closer to the mounting substrate  160  as compared to the second capacitor unit C 2  to further improve characteristics in a high frequency band of the capacitor component  100 . To mark a mounting direction of the capacitor component  100 , a marking unit M may be formed in the body  101  in an exemplary embodiment in  FIG. 7  to be described later. 
       FIG. 6  is a graph illustrating impedance characteristics of a capacitor component obtained according to an exemplary embodiment. As seen in an impedance characteristics graph in  FIG. 6 , for the capacitor component  100  according to an exemplary embodiment, two types of capacitors (a first capacitor unit and a second capacitor unit) with different resonance frequencies are included within a single component to maintain impedance at a low level in a wide frequency band. Thus, the capacitor component  100  described above can be used to reduce the number of decoupling capacitors used in a power supply device, a high-speed MPU or the like, and to effectively reduce mounting costs or space of a decoupling capacitor. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 7 to 9 , a modified exemplary embodiment is described. In the modified example of  FIG. 7 , a marking unit M for indicating a mounting direction of a capacitor component may be formed. A mounting direction may be easily recognized by the marking unit M, and the first capacitor unit C 1  may be disposed to be close to a mounting substrate with reference to the mounting direction. The marking unit M described above may be formed of ceramic, a different material from that of a different region of the body  101 . 
       FIGS. 8 and 9  are plan views schematically illustrating a form of a first internal electrode and a second internal electrode included in a second capacitor unit in a capacitor component according to a modified example. As illustrated in the form illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the number of lead out portions included in the first internal electrodes  123 ′ and the second internal electrodes  124 ′ of the second capacitor unit C 2  may be different from an exemplary embodiment as described previously. The first internal electrodes  123 ′ in the second capacitor unit C 2  include lead out portions R 5 ′ and R 5  respectively exposed to the first surface S 1  and the second surface S 2  to respectively be connected to the first external electrodes  141  and  142 . The second internal electrodes  124 ′ in the second capacitor unit C 2  include lead out portions R 6 ′and R 6  respectively exposed to a third surface S 3  and a fourth surface S 4  to respectively be connected to the second external electrodes  151  and  152 . In a modified example, the number of lead out portions of the first internal electrodes  123 ′and the second internal electrodes  124 ′ in the second capacitor unit C 2  may be increased to reduce overall equivalent series resistance ESR of a capacitor component. 
     As set forth above, according to an exemplary embodiment, an impedance reduced capacitor component for effectively removing noise from a wide frequency band may be obtained. 
     While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations could be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.