Patent Publication Number: US-11380476-B2

Title: Multilayer coil component

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-248867, filed on 26 Dec. 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to a multilayer coil component. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Conventionally, a multilayer coil component having a multilayer coil provided in a ferrite element body is known. For example, a multilayer coil component having a ceramic element body in a three-layered structure (a so-called sandwich structure) in which an inner layer portion having relatively high porosity is sandwiched by a pair of outer layer portions having relatively low porosity is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-38904 (Patent Document 1). In such a multilayer coil component, it is known that a dielectric constant and a magnetic permeability increase when the porosity of the element body is low, and a dielectric constant and a magnetic permeability decrease when the porosity of the element body is high. 
     SUMMARY 
     After intensive research, the inventors have newly found a technology in which coil characteristics such as impedance, inductance, and self-resonant frequency (SRF) can be adjusted in a multilayer coil component constituted by multi-layered element bodies. 
     According to the disclosure, a multilayer coil component in which coil characteristics can be adjusted is provided. 
     A multilayer coil component according to one aspect of the disclosure is a multilayer coil component having a multilayer coil provided in a ferrite element body, and external electrodes respectively provided on end surfaces of the ferrite element body facing each other, in which the ferrite element body includes a first element body portion and a second element body portion adjacent to each other in an axial direction of the multilayer coil, in which a dielectric constant of the second element body portion is lower than a dielectric constant of the first element body portion, and a magnetic permeability of the second element body portion is higher than a magnetic permeability of the first element body portion, and the multilayer coil includes a winding portion and a lead-out portion, the lead-out portion extends from end portions of the winding portion to the end surfaces provided with the external electrodes thereon, in which the winding portion extends over the first element body portion and the second element body portion. 
     In a configuration in which a winding portion of the multilayer coil is provided only in the inner layer portion and a lead-out portion thereof is provided only in the outer layer portion as in Patent Document 1 described above, it is extremely difficult to adjust coil characteristics. After intensive research, the inventors newly found that a first element body portion and a second element body portion contribute to coil characteristics as follows when a winding portion is provided to extend over the first element body portion and the second element body portion. That is, regarding an impedance around 1 GHz, the first element body portion has a relatively high impedance and the second element body portion has a relatively low impedance. Also, regarding inductance, the first element body portion has a relatively low inductance and the second element body portion has a relatively high inductance. Further, regarding a self-resonant frequency, the first element body portion has a relatively high self-resonant frequency and the second element body portion has a relatively low self-resonant frequency. Therefore, in the above-described multilayer coil component, desired coil characteristics can be obtained by adjusting proportions of the first element body portion and the second element body portion in the ferrite element body. 
     In a multilayer coil component according to another aspect, an axial direction of the multilayer coil may be parallel to a direction wherein the end surfaces face each other, the end surfaces being provided with the external electrodes. 
     In a multilayer coil component according to another aspect, the ferrite element body may have a structure in which one of the first element body portions and the second element body portions sandwich the other thereof in the axial direction of the multilayer coil. 
     In a multilayer coil component according to another aspect, the ferrite element body may include a pair of second element body portions and have a structure in which the first element body portion is sandwiched by the pair of second element body portions in the axial direction of the multilayer coil. In this case, when external electrodes are provided on the second element body portions having a relatively low dielectric constant, high frequency characteristics of the multilayer coil component are improved. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a multilayer coil component according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of the multilayer coil component illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a lamination state of green sheets when the multilayer coil component illustrated in  FIG. 1  is manufactured. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment of the disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements or elements having the same functions will be denoted by the same reference signs and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a multilayer coil component  1  includes a ferrite element body  2  having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a multilayer coil C formed in the ferrite element body  2 . 
     The ferrite element body  2  is formed of a ferrite element body material containing ferrite as a main component, and can be formed by calcining a laminate in which multi-layered green sheets  11 A and  11 B to be described below are overlapped. Therefore, the ferrite element body  2  can be regarded as a laminate of ferrite layers and has a lamination direction. However, the ferrite layers constituting the ferrite element body  2  can be integrated to such an extent that boundaries therebetween cannot be visually recognized. The ferrite element body  2  has an outer shape of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and includes, as outer surfaces thereof, a pair of end surfaces  2   a  and  2   b  facing each other in the lamination direction and four side surfaces  2   c ,  2   d ,  2   e , and  2   f  extending in a direction in which the pair of end surfaces  2   a  and  2   b  face each other to connect the pair of end surfaces  2   a  and  2   b.    
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the ferrite element body  2  includes a first element body portion  6  and a pair of second element body portions  7 . More specifically, the ferrite element body  2  has a structure (sandwich structure) in which the first element body portion  6  is adjacent to the pair of second element body portions  7  to be sandwiched therebetween in a lamination direction of the ferrite element body  2 . 
     In the present embodiment, both the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7  are formed of a ferrite element body material containing a Ni—Cu—Zn-based ferrite as a main component, but contents of the constituent components therein are different from each other. Specifically, the ferrite element body material forming the first element body portion  6  contains a main component composed of 45.0 mol % of Fe compounds in terms of Fe 2 O 3 , 8.0 mol % of Cu compounds in terms of CuO, 8.0 mol % of Zn compounds in terms of ZnO, and the remainder being Ni compounds, and accessory components including 1.0 parts by weight of Si compounds in terms of SiO 2 , 5.0 parts by weight of Co compounds in terms of CO 3 O 4 , and 0.8 parts by weight of Bi compounds in terms of Bi 2 O 3  with respect to 100 parts by weight of the main component. Also, the ferrite element body material forming the second element body portion  7  contains a main component composed of 37.0 mol % of Fe compounds in terms of Fe 2 O 3 , 8.0 mol % of Cu compounds in terms of CuO, 34.0 mol % of Zn compounds in terms of ZnO, and the remainder being Ni compounds, and accessory components including 4.5 parts by weight of Si compounds in terms of SiO 2 , 0.5 parts by weight of Co compounds in terms of Co 3 O 4 , and 0.8 parts by weight of Bi compounds in terms of Bi 2 O 3  with respect to 100 parts by weight of the main component. That is, both the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7  contain ZnO as a constituent component, and a ZnO content rate of the first element body portion  6  is lower than a ZnO content rate of the second element body portion  7 . Further, both the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7  contain NiO as a constituent component, and a NiO content rate of the first element body portion  6  is higher than a NiO content rate of the second element body portion  7 . 
     Further, the ferrite element body material forming both the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7  contains Zn 2 SiO 4  as an accessory component. In the present embodiment, a Zn 2 SiO 4  content rate of the first element body portion  6  is 1 part by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the ferrite element body material, and a Zn 2 SiO 4  content rate of the second element body portion  7  is 17 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the ferrite element body material. That is, the Zn 2 SiO 4  content rate of the first element body portion  6  is lower than the Zn 2 SiO 4  content rate of the second element body portion  7 . 
     Further, a dielectric constant of the second element body portion  7  is lower than a dielectric constant of the first element body portion  6 . In the present embodiment, a dielectric constant of the first element body portion  6  is about 14, and a dielectric constant of the second element body portion  7  is about 12. Also, a magnetic permeability of the second element body portion  7  is higher than a magnetic permeability of the first element body portion  6 . In the present embodiment, a magnetic permeability of the first element body portion  6  is about 6, and a magnetic permeability of the second element body portion  7  is about 11. 
     The multilayer coil C is constituted by a plurality of conductive layers overlapping in the lamination direction of the ferrite element body  2  and has an axis L parallel to the lamination direction of the ferrite element body  2 . The multilayer coil C includes a coil winding portion (winding portion)  12  and a pair of lead-out portions  13  extending from each end portion of the coil winding portion  12  to the end surfaces  2   a  and  2   b . Each of the lead-out portions  13  includes a lead-out conductor  14  and a connection conductor  15 . Each conductive layer constituting the multilayer coil C is configured to contain a conductive material such as Ag, Pd, or the like. 
     Also, the multilayer coil component  1  includes a pair of external electrodes  4  and  5  disposed on both end surfaces  2   a  and  2   b  of the ferrite element body  2 , respectively. The external electrode  4  is formed to cover the whole of one end surface  2   a  and some of the four side surfaces  2   c ,  2   d ,  2   e , and  2   f  and is electrically connected to the lead-out portion  13  extending to the end surface  2   a . The external electrode  5  is formed to cover the whole of the other end surface  2   b  and some of the four side surfaces  2   c ,  2   d ,  2   e , and  2   f  and is electrically connected to the lead-out portion  13  extending to the end surface  2   b . The lamination direction of the ferrite element body  2  coincides with a direction in which the pair of end surfaces  2   a  and  2   b  face each other, and the pair of external electrodes  4  and  5  are respectively disposed at opposite end portions of the ferrite element body  2  in relation to the lamination direction. Further, the respective external electrodes  4  and  5  can be formed by causing the outer surfaces of the ferrite element body  2  to be coated with a conductive paste containing Ag, Pd, or the like as a main component, followed by baking and then electroplating them. For the electroplating, Ni, Sn, or the like can be used. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the multilayer coil component  1  described above can be formed by calcining a laminate in which multi-layered green sheets  11 A and  11 B are overlapped. 
     Each of the green sheets  11 A and  11 B has a rectangular shape (a square shape in the present embodiment), and includes four sides  11   c ,  11   d ,  11   e , and  11   f  which define the side surfaces  2   c ,  2   d ,  2   e , and  2   f  of the ferrite element body  2 . The green sheet  11 A is a green sheet to be the first element body portion  6  described above, and components thereof have been adjusted for a ferrite layer having a composition of the above-described first element body portion  6  after calcination. The green sheet  11 B is a green sheet to be the second element body portion  7  described above, and components thereof have been adjusted for a ferrite layer having a composition of the above-described second element body portion  7  after calcination. 
     Respective green sheets  11 A and  11 B are arranged such that the green sheets  11 B are used for a lower stage portion and an upper stage portion of a green sheet laminate and the green sheets  11 A are used for an intermediate stage portion thereof to form a structure in which the first element body portion  6  is adjacent to the pair of second element body portions  7  to be sandwiched therebetween in the lamination direction. 
     In each of the green sheets  11 A and  11 B, a conductor pattern to be the above-described conductive layer is formed. Each conductor pattern can be formed by screen printing a conductive paste using screen plate making in which an opening corresponding to the pattern is formed. 
     Each conductor pattern  21  forming the coil winding portion  12  is formed in substantially a U shape. A substantially circular pad portion  23  corresponding to a through-hole conductor  22  is formed at each of one end portion and the other end portion of the conductor patterns  21 . Each of the conductor patterns  21  is connected in series via the through-hole conductor  22  with each of the phases shifted by 90 degrees, and forms the coil C in which the axis L extends in the lamination direction. The conductor pattern  21  may be formed not only on the green sheet  11 A in the intermediate stage portion of the green sheet laminate, but also on the green sheet  11 B in the upper stage portion and the lower stage portion thereof. 
     A conductor pattern  24  forming the lead-out conductor  14  is formed as a substantially circular pad portion (pad conductor)  26  corresponding to a through-hole conductor  25 . That is, the lead-out conductor  14  is constituted by the through-hole conductor  25  and a pad portions  26  provided integrally with the through-hole conductor  25 . The pad portion  26  has a larger diameter than the pad portion  23  of the coil winding portion  12  and is disposed coaxially with the axis L of the coil C formed of the coil winding portion  12 . Each conductor pattern  24  is connected in series via the through-hole conductor  25 , and forms the lead-out conductor  14  extending along the axis L of the coil C. An outer end portion of each lead-out conductor  14  is exposed to each of the end surfaces  2   a  and  2   b  in the lamination direction of the ferrite element body  2 , and is connected to each of the external electrodes  4  and  5 . The conductor pattern  24  is formed on the green sheet  11 B in the upper stage portion and the lower stage portion of the green sheet laminate. 
     A conductor pattern  27  forming the connection conductor  15  is linearly formed to connect a position corresponding to one pad portion  23  of the coil winding portion  12  and a position corresponding to the pad portion  26  of the lead-out conductor  14 . A substantially circular pad portion  28  corresponding to the through-hole conductor  25  is formed to be coaxial with the pad portion  26  of the lead-out conductor  14  in substantially the same shape at one end portion of the conductor pattern  27 , and a substantially circular pad portion  29  corresponding to the through-hole conductor  22  is formed to be coaxial with the pad portion  23  of the coil winding portion  12  in substantially the same shape at the other end portion of the conductor pattern  27 . One end portion of the conductor pattern  27  is connected to the other end portion of the lead-out conductor  14  via the through-hole conductor  25 , and the other end portion of the conductor pattern  27  is connected to an end portion of the coil winding portion  12  via the through-hole conductor  22 . The conductor pattern  27  is formed on the green sheet  11 B in the upper stage portion and the lower stage portion of the green sheet laminate. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in the ferrite element body  2  described above, interfaces F 1  and F 2  between the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portions  7  pass through the coil winding portion  12  and extend perpendicular to the lamination direction. In other words, the coil winding portion  12  is provided to extend over the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7  in the lamination direction. More specifically, the coil winding portion  12  is provided to extend from one second element body portion  7  (for example, an upper second element body portion in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 2 ) to the other second element body portion  7  (for example, a lower second element body portion in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 2 ) via the first element body portion  6  in the ferrite element body  2 . 
     The interfaces F and F 2  described above can be caused to appropriately slide by increasing or decreasing the number of green sheets  11 A and  11 B described above. Also, by sliding the interfaces F 1  and F 2 , proportions of the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7  in the ferrite element body  2  can also be appropriately changed. 
     The inventors have newly found that the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7  contribute to respective coil characteristics of impedance, inductance, and a self-resonant frequency when the coil winding portion  12  is provided to extend over the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7 . 
     Regarding impedance around 1 GHz, the first element body portion  6  is relatively high and the second element body portion  7  is relatively low. Also, regarding inductance, the first element body portion  6  is relatively low and the second element body portion  7  is relatively high. Further, regarding a self-resonant frequency, the first element body portion  6  is relatively high and the second element body portion  7  is relatively low. 
     Therefore, in the multilayer coil component  1 , desired coil characteristics can be obtained by adjusting proportions of the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7  in the ferrite element body  2 . 
     More specifically, when a dielectric constant of the ferrite element body  2  is reduced by adjusting proportions between the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7 , stray capacitance decreases and impedance around 1 GHz increases. Also, when a magnetic permeability of the ferrite element body  2  is reduced by adjusting proportions between the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7 , a self-resonant frequency increases, impedance also increases, and inductance decreases. Further, when a magnetic permeability of the ferrite element body  2  is increased by adjusting proportions between the first element body portion  6  and the second element body portion  7 , a self-resonant frequency decreases, impedance also decreases, and inductance increases. 
     Also, in the multilayer coil component  1  described above, since the external electrodes  4  and  5  are respectively provided at the second element body portions  7  having a relatively low dielectric constant, a high frequency characteristic of the multilayer coil component  1  is improved. 
     The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, although a configuration in which the external electrodes  4  and  5  are respectively disposed on the end surfaces  2   a  and  2   b  of the element body and a so-called longitudinal winding coil in which an extending direction (axial direction) of the axis L of the multilayer coil C extends in the lamination direction of the ferrite element body  2  is connected to the external electrodes  4  and  5  has been described as an example, the coil may be a lateral winding coil, and arrangement positions of the external electrodes  4  and  5  are not particularly limited as long as they are on outer surfaces of the element body. That is, the external electrodes  4  and  5  are not necessarily provided on the end surfaces  2   a  and  2   b  facing each other in a direction of the axis L of the multilayer coil C, and may be provided on the side surfaces  2   c ,  2   d ,  2   e , and  2   f . In this case, a lead-out portion of the coil C extends from end portions of a winding portion to the side surfaces  2   c ,  2   d ,  2   e ,  2   f  on each of which an external electrode is provided.