Patent Publication Number: US-11024461-B2

Title: Multi-layer ceramic electronic component having external electrode with base film and electrically conductive thin film

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Japanese Application No. 2018-167934, filed Sep. 7, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to a low-profile multi-layer ceramic electronic component. 
     Along with miniaturization of electronic devices, there are demands for reduction in height of multi-layer ceramic electronic components. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2015-65394 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1) discloses a low-profile multi-layer ceramic capacitor. This multi-layer ceramic capacitor includes first and second external electrodes, which include first and second base electrodes, conductive thin film layers, and plating layers, and on which band surfaces having a predetermined length or greater are formed. The conductive thin film layers are extended so as to cover corner portions of a ceramic main body. 
     SUMMARY 
     In the multi-layer ceramic capacitor disclosed in Patent Document 1, the peeling of the conductive thin film layers has occurred in some cases, and it has been difficult to enhance reliability of the external electrodes. 
     In view of the circumstances as described above, it is desirable to provide a multi-layer ceramic electronic component capable of enhancing reliability of an external electrode. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a multi-layer ceramic electronic component including a ceramic body and an external electrode formed on a surface of the ceramic body. 
     The ceramic body includes a main surface facing in a first direction, an end surface facing in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, a side surface facing in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction, and internal electrodes laminated in the first direction. 
     The external electrode includes a base film, an electrically conductive thin film, and a plating film. 
     The base film includes an end-surface-covering portion that covers the end surface, and a main-surface-covering portion that covers part of the main surface continuously from the end-surface-covering portion. 
     The electrically conductive thin film includes a base-covering portion that covers the main-surface-covering portion, and a ceramic-body-covering portion that extends from the base-covering portion in the second direction and covers part of the main surface. 
     The plating film covers the electrically conductive thin film and the base film. 
     In the configuration described above, the electrically conductive thin film is formed on the base film extended to the main surface. The base film is extended to the main surface, which can enhance adhesion of the electrically conductive thin film. This can also suppress infiltration of moisture from the base film in an effective manner, enhance moisture resistance, and inhibit failures such as a short circuit from occurring in the external electrode. Therefore, it is possible to enhance connection reliability of the external electrode. 
     The main-surface-covering portion may have a main-surface-covering dimension of 10 μm or more in the second direction from an outer edge portion of the main surface in the second direction. 
     Accordingly, it is possible to satisfactorily form the base film on the main surface and enhance connection reliability of the external electrode. 
     Further, the main-surface-covering portion may have a main-surface-covering dimension of 100 μm or less in the second direction from an outer edge portion of the main surface in the second direction. 
     Additionally, the main-surface-covering dimension may be 70 μm or less. 
     Accordingly, a region in which the external electrode is to be formed can be limited, and stress to be applied to the ceramic body by the external electrode can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to inhibit the ceramic body from being broken even if the ceramic body is formed to be low in height. 
     Further, the ceramic body may have a ceramic body height dimension of 30 μm or more and 60 μm or less in the first direction, and the main-surface-covering portion may have a main-surface-covering dimension in the second direction from an outer edge portion of the main surface in the second direction, the main-surface-covering dimension being smaller than the ceramic body height dimension. 
     Accordingly, it is possible to satisfactorily inhibit moisture from infiltrating from the base film and going around the end surface and to improve moisture resistance. 
     As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a multi-layer ceramic electronic component capable of enhancing reliability of an external electrode. 
     These and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view schematically showing a multi-layer ceramic capacitor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor taken along the A-A′ line in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor taken along the B-B′ line in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a ceramic body of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor; and 
         FIG. 5  is a partially enlarged view of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. 
     In the figures, an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis orthogonal to one another are shown as appropriate. The X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are common in all figures. 
     1. OVERALL CONFIGURATION OF MULTI-LAYER CERAMIC CAPACITOR  10   
       FIGS. 1 to 3  each show a multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10 .  FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  taken along the A-A′ line in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  taken along the B-B′ line in  FIG. 1 . 
     The multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  includes a ceramic body  11  and two external electrodes  14 . Each of the external electrodes  14  is formed on the surface of the ceramic body  11 . 
     The ceramic body  11  has a substantially hexahedral shape. In other words, the ceramic body  11  has two end surfaces  11   a  facing in the X-axis direction, two side surfaces  11   b  facing in the Y-axis direction, and two main surfaces  11   c  facing in the Z-axis direction. Each surface does not include a difference in level or the like and may have a uniform surface. The ceramic body  11  does not need to have the hexahedral shape in a precise sense. For example, ridges connecting the respective surfaces may be chamfered and may be curved. 
     Regarding the size of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10 , for example, a dimension L in the X-axis direction is in the range of 0.2 mm to 2.0 mm, and a dimension W in the Y-axis direction is in the range of 0.2 mm to 2.0 mm. The multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  may have a long side in any of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. In the example shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  has a long side in the Y-axis direction. A dimension T of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  in the Z-axis direction is, for example, 100 μm or less, and is configured to be low in height. A ceramic body height dimension T′ of the ceramic body  11  in the Z-axis direction is, for example, 30 μm or more and 60 μm or less. It should be noted that each dimension of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  is assumed as a dimension of a largest portion along each direction. 
     The ceramic body  11  includes a capacitance forming unit  16 , covers  17 , and side margins  18 . The capacitance forming unit  16  is disposed at the center portion of the ceramic body  11  in the Y- and Z-axis directions. The covers  17  cover the capacitance forming unit  16  from the Z-axis direction, and the side margins  18  cover the capacitance forming unit  16  from the Y-axis direction. 
     More specifically, the covers  17  are disposed on both sides of the capacitance forming unit  16  in the Z-axis direction. The side margins  18  are disposed on both sides of the capacitance forming unit  16  in the Y-axis direction. The covers  17  and the side margins  18  have main functions of protecting the capacitance forming unit  16  and ensuring insulation properties of the periphery of the capacitance forming unit  16 . 
     The capacitance forming unit  16  includes a plurality of first internal electrodes  12 , and a plurality of second internal electrodes  13 , which are laminated in the Z-axis direction via ceramic layers  15  (see  FIG. 3 ). The first internal electrodes  12  and the second internal electrodes  13  each have a sheet-like shape extending along the X-Y plane and are alternately disposed along the Z-axis direction. 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the ceramic body  11 . The ceramic body  11  has a structure in which sheets are laminated as shown in  FIG. 4 . The capacitance forming unit  16  and the side margins  18  can be formed of sheets on which the first internal electrodes  12  and the second internal electrodes  13  are printed. The covers  17  can be formed of sheets on which the first internal electrodes  12  and the second internal electrodes  13  are not printed. 
     The first internal electrodes  12  and the second internal electrodes  13  are each formed of a good conductor of electricity and function as internal electrodes of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10 . Examples of the good conductor of electricity forming the first and second internal electrodes  12  and  13  include a metal mainly containing nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), silver (Ag), gold (Au), or the like, and an alloy of those metals. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the first internal electrodes  12  are drawn to one of the end surfaces  11   a  of the ceramic body  11  and connected to one of the external electrodes  14 . The second internal electrodes  13  are drawn to the other end surface  11   a  of the ceramic body  11  and connected to the other external electrode  14 . With this configuration, the first internal electrodes  12  and the second internal electrodes  13  are electrically continuous with the different external electrodes  14 . 
     The ceramic layer  15  is formed of dielectric ceramics. In the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10 , in order to increase a capacitance of each ceramic layer  15  provided between the first internal electrode  12  and the second internal electrode  13 , dielectric ceramics having a high dielectric constant is used. Examples of the dielectric ceramics having a high dielectric constant include a material having a Perovskite structure containing barium (Ba) and titanium (Ti), which is typified by barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ). 
     Further, examples of the dielectric ceramics may include a strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 ) based material, a calcium titanate (CaTiO 3 ) based material, a magnesium titanate (MgTiO 3 ) based material, a calcium zirconate (CaZrO 3 ) based material, a calcium zirconate titanate (Ca(Zr,Ti)O 3 ) based material, a barium zirconate (BaZrO 3 ) based material, and a titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) based material, other than a barium titanate based material. 
     The covers  17  and the side margins  18  are also formed of dielectric ceramics. The material forming the covers  17  and the side margins  18  only needs to be insulating ceramics, but if a material having a composition system similar to that of the capacitance forming unit  16  is used therefor, production efficiency is increased, and internal stress in the ceramic body  11  is suppressed. 
     With the configuration described above, when a voltage is applied between the external electrodes  14  in the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10 , the voltage is applied to the plurality of ceramic layers  15  provided between the first internal electrodes  12  and the second internal electrodes  13  in the capacitance forming unit  16 . With this configuration, the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  stores charge corresponding to the voltage applied between the external electrodes  14 . 
     2. CONFIGURATION OF EXTERNAL ELECTRODES  14   
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the external electrodes  14  cover the respective end surfaces  11   a  and extend to the main surfaces  11   c . Accordingly, via holes or the like can be provided in the regions of the external electrodes  14  on the main surfaces  11   c . This facilitates connection with external wiring. 
     Each of the external electrodes  14  has a three-layer structure. Specifically, the external electrode  14  includes a base film  19 , an electrically conductive thin film  20 , and a plating film  21 . 
     The base film  19  covers the end surface  11   a  and part of the main surface  11   c . The base film  19  may contain nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), silver (Ag), gold (Au), or the like as a main component. The base film  19  can be formed by applying an electrically conductive paste by dipping or printing, for example, and then baking it. 
     The electrically conductive thin film  20  covers the base film  19  and part of the main surface  11   c  from the Z-axis direction. The electrically conductive thin film  20  may contain copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), silver (Ag), gold (Au), or the like as a main component. The electrically conductive thin film  20  is a sputtering film formed by sputtering, for example, but may be formed by spraying, printing, or the like. The electrically conductive thin film  20  can be a base for the plating film  21  on the main surfaces  11   c.    
     The plating film  21  covers the whole of the base film  19  and the electrically conductive thin film  20 . The plating film  21  is a film formed by plating such as electrolytic plating and has a single-layer or multi-layer structure. The plating film  21  may contain copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), tin (Sn), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), gold (Au), or the like as a main component. 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of a main part of  FIG. 2  and a view showing a detailed configuration of the external electrode  14 . It should be noted that  FIG. 5  shows a configuration of one main surface  11   c  side of the external electrode  14 , but the same holds true for a configuration of the other main surface  11   c  side of the external electrode  14 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the base film  19  includes an end-surface-covering portion  191  and a main-surface-covering portion  192 . The end-surface-covering portion  191  covers the end surface  11   a . The main-surface-covering portion  192  extends from the end-surface-covering portion  191  and covers part of the main surface  11   c  across the ridge of the ceramic body  11 . The main-surface-covering portion  192  is formed integrally with and continuously from the end-surface-covering portion  191 . A thickness dimension D 1  of the main-surface-covering portion  192  in the Z-axis direction is, for example, 0.5 to 5.0 It should be noted that the thickness dimension D 1  of the main-surface-covering portion  192  is assumed as a largest dimension in the dimensions from the main surface  11   c  to the surface of the main-surface-covering portion  192  along the Z-axis direction. 
     The main surface  11   c  only needs to be a substantially uniform surface and does not include a difference in level or the like. It is assumed that irregularities and inclination within a small range of 1% of the height dimension T′ of the ceramic body  11  are allowable in the main surface  11   c . As shown in  FIG. 5 , an outer edge of the main surface  11   c  in the X-axis direction is represented as an outer edge portion Ea. 
     The base film  19  is extended by continuously going around from the end surface  11   a  to the main surface  11   c . This allows occurrence of a failure such as peeling of the external electrode  14  from the surface of the ceramic body  11  to be suppressed, and also allows infiltration of a plating solution in between the base film  19  and the ceramic body  11  to be suppressed. Additionally, it is possible to inhibit moisture from going to the end surface  11   a  side through a gap between the base film  19  and the ceramic body  11  and also possible to enhance moisture resistance. 
     In addition, an end portion  19   a  of the base film  19  in the X-axis direction is formed on the main surface  11   c , and thus structures such as a fine difference in level are not formed around the end portion  19   a . Accordingly, the electrically conductive thin film  20  can reliably cover the end portion  19   a , and breakage of the electrically conductive thin film  20 , such as cracks, can be inhibited from occurring in the vicinity of the end portion  19   a.    
     In the main-surface-covering portion  192 , a main-surface-covering dimension E 1  in the X-axis direction from the outer edge portion Ea of the main surface  11   c  is larger than 0 and a lower limit of the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  is favorably 10 μm or more, more favorably 20 μm or more. Accordingly, the peeling defect described above can be suppressed more reliably. 
     Further, an upper limit of the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  is favorably 100 μm or less, more favorably 70 μm or less. Accordingly, stress given to the ceramic body  11  by the external electrode  14  can be reduced, and the ceramic body  11  can be inhibited from being broken. 
     The electrically conductive thin film  20  includes a base-film-covering portion  201  and a ceramic-body-covering portion  202 . The base-film-covering portion  201  covers the main-surface-covering portion  192 . The ceramic-body-covering portion  202  extends from the base-film-covering portion  201  in the X-axis direction and covers part of the main surface  11   c . The base-film-covering portion  201  and the ceramic-body-covering portion  202  are formed continuously integrally with each other. Accordingly, the end portion  19   a  of the base film  19  in the X-axis direction is reliably covered with the electrically conductive thin film  20 . Therefore, peeling of the base film  19  can be more reliably inhibited, and adhesion of the electrically conductive thin film  20  can be enhanced. 
     A thickness dimension D 2  of the base-film-covering portion  201  in the Z-axis direction is 0.1 μm to 0.2 μm, for example. 
     Further, in the ceramic-body-covering portion  202 , a ceramic-body-covering dimension E 2  from the end portion  19   a  of the base film  19  (main-surface-covering portion  192 ) in the X-axis direction is, for example, 100 to 200 favorably 100 to 190 Accordingly, the electrically conductive thin film  20  can reliably cover the end portion  19   a  of the base film  19 , and adhesion of the electrically conductive thin film  20  with respect to the ceramic body  11  can be enhanced. Therefore, an effect of suppressing the peeling of the external electrode  14  from the ceramic body  11  can be enhanced. Further, infiltration of moisture from the base film  19  can be effectively inhibited, and moisture resistance can also be enhanced. 
     The plating film  21  serves as the outer layer of the external electrode  14 . The plating film  21  is configured to cover the end-surface-covering portion  191  of the base film  19  on the end surface  11   a  and to cover the electrically conductive thin film  20  on the main surface  11   c.    
     With the external electrode  14  having the configuration described above, the peeling of the base film  19  and the electrically conductive thin film  20  can be effectively suppressed. Additionally, it is possible to inhibit moisture from infiltrating from the base film  19  and to enhance moisture resistance. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily enhance the reliability of the external electrode  14 . 
     3. EXAMPLES AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES 
     Samples of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  were produced as follows. 
     First, a ceramic green sheet having the thickness of 1.0 μm was formed of a ferroelectric material such as BaTiO 3 . An internal electrode pattern was formed on the ceramic green sheet by printing or the like. A predetermined number of ceramic green sheets on each of which the internal electrode pattern is formed, and a predetermined number of ceramic green sheets on each of which the internal electrode pattern is not formed, are laminated, and the laminate as shown in  FIG. 4  was produced. The laminate was pressure-bonded and cut at predetermined positions to produce unsintered multi-layer chips. 
     An electrically conductive paste mainly containing nickel was applied to the end surface and part of the main surface of the unsintered multi-layer chip by dipping. At that time, the unsintered multi-layer chip was immersed into a dip tank from the end surface of the multi-layer chip to the part of the main surface and side surface thereof, and the electrically conductive paste was integrally applied to the end surface, the main surface, and the side surface. The multi-layer chip to which the electrically conductive paste was applied was sintered at a temperature of 1,000 to 1,400° C., and a sintered body including the base film  19  formed on the ceramic body  11  was produced. In the sintered base film  19 , a thickness dimension from the main surface  11   c  was 1.5 μm. 
     The sintered body was masked at a predetermined position on the main surface side, and the electrically conductive thin film  20  containing copper as a main component was formed on the main surface  11   c  and the base film  19  by sputtering. The thickness of the electrically conductive thin film  20  was 0.1 to 0.2 μm. Additionally, with the electrically conductive thin film  20  and the base film  19  being used as a base, the plating film  21  containing copper of 4 μm, nickel of 2 μm, and tin of 4 μm was formed by electrolytic plating in order from the base side, and the samples of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  were obtained. 
     Regarding the dimensions of the samples of the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10 , as shown in Tables 1 and 2, a dimension L in the X-axis direction was set to 600 to 1,000 μm, a dimension W in the Y-axis direction was set to 500 to 1,000 μm, and a height dimension T in the Z-axis direction was set to 50 to 99 μm. Further, a height dimension T′ of the ceramic body  11  in the Z-axis direction was set to 30 μm to 79 μm. For the dimensions of the respective portions of the external electrode  14 , the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  of the base film  19  in the X-axis direction was set to 0 to 100 μm, and the ceramic-body-covering dimension E 2  of the electrically conductive thin film  20  in the X-axis direction was set to 100 to 200 μm. It should be noted that the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  of the base film  19  in the X-axis direction uses the outer edge portion Ea of the main surface  11   c  as the point of origin. 
     1,000 samples were produced for each size, and a peeling defect rate of the external electrode  14  was calculated therefor. For the peeling defect rate, the outer appearance of each sample was observed using a stereo microscope at a 40-fold magnification, and the number of samples in which peeling defects were found, among the 1,000 samples, was calculated. 
     Table 1 and Table 2 show the results. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Electrically conductive 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 Base film (μm) 
                 thin film (μm) 
               
               
                 Sample size (μm) 
                 (μm) 
                 Main-surface-covering 
                 Ceramic-body-covering 
                 (%) 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 L 
                 W 
                 T 
                 T′ 
                 dimension E1 
                 dimension E2 
                 Peeling defect rate 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 99 
                 79 
                 0 
                 200 
                 0.9 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 99 
                 79 
                 5 
                 195 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 99 
                 79 
                 10 
                 190 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 99 
                 79 
                 20 
                 180 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 99 
                 79 
                 40 
                 160 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 99 
                 79 
                 55 
                 145 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 99 
                 79 
                 70 
                 130 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 99 
                 79 
                 100 
                 100 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 74 
                 54 
                 0 
                 200 
                 1.1 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 74 
                 54 
                 5 
                 195 
                 0.2 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 74 
                 54 
                 10 
                 190 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 74 
                 54 
                 20 
                 180 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 74 
                 54 
                 40 
                 160 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 74 
                 54 
                 55 
                 145 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 74 
                 54 
                 70 
                 130 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 74 
                 54 
                 100 
                 100 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 99 
                 79 
                 0 
                 200 
                 0.6 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 99 
                 79 
                 5 
                 195 
                 0.1 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 99 
                 79 
                 10 
                 190 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 99 
                 79 
                 20 
                 180 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 99 
                 79 
                 40 
                 160 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 99 
                 79 
                 55 
                 145 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 99 
                 79 
                 70 
                 130 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 99 
                 79 
                 100 
                 100 
                 0 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Electrically conductive 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 Base film (μm) 
                 thin film (μm) 
               
               
                 Sample size (μm) 
                 (μm) 
                 Main-surface-covering 
                 Ceramic-body-covering 
                 (%) 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 L 
                 W 
                 T 
                 T′ 
                 dimension E1 
                 dimension E2 
                 Peeling defect rate 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 50 
                 30 
                 0 
                 200 
                 0.5 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 50 
                 30 
                 5 
                 195 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 50 
                 30 
                 10 
                 190 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 50 
                 30 
                 20 
                 180 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 50 
                 30 
                 40 
                 160 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 50 
                 30 
                 55 
                 145 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 50 
                 30 
                 70 
                 130 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 50 
                 30 
                 100 
                 100 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 63 
                 43 
                 0 
                 200 
                 0.5 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 63 
                 43 
                 5 
                 195 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 63 
                 43 
                 10 
                 190 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 63 
                 43 
                 20 
                 180 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 63 
                 43 
                 40 
                 160 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 63 
                 43 
                 55 
                 145 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 63 
                 43 
                 70 
                 130 
                 0 
               
               
                 1000 
                 500 
                 63 
                 43 
                 100 
                 100 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 300 
                 90 
                 60 
                 0 
                 200 
                 0.3 
               
               
                 600 
                 300 
                 90 
                 60 
                 5 
                 195 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 300 
                 90 
                 60 
                 10 
                 190 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 300 
                 90 
                 60 
                 20 
                 180 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 300 
                 90 
                 60 
                 40 
                 160 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 300 
                 90 
                 60 
                 55 
                 145 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 300 
                 90 
                 60 
                 70 
                 130 
                 0 
               
               
                 600 
                 300 
                 90 
                 60 
                 100 
                 100 
                 0 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Regarding the samples of the respective sizes, in a case where the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  of the base film  19  was 0 μm, a peeling defect of approximately 0.5 to 1.1% occurred. Meanwhile, in a case where the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  of the base film  19  was larger than 0 μm, i.e., the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  was 5 to 100 μm, the peeling defect rate was 0.2% or less in each case. In particular, in a case where the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  of the base film  19  was 10 μm or more, the samples having any size had the peeling defect rate of 0%. 
     Subsequently, a moisture resistance test was performed on 100 samples each having the size in which the length dimension L was set to 600 μm, and the width dimension W was set to 1,000 μm. Specifically, samples to be tested were disposed under an environment of a temperature of 85° C. and a humidity of 85%, and a voltage of 12 V was applied thereto via the external electrodes  14  for 500 hours. At that time, samples in which a short circuit occurred were counted as defectives in moisture resistance. Table 3 shows the results. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Electrically conductive 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 Base film (μm) 
                 thin film (μm) 
               
               
                 Sample size (μm) 
                 (μm) 
                 Main-surface-covering 
                 Ceramic-body-covering 
                 Number of defectives 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 L 
                 W 
                 T 
                 T′ 
                 dimension E1 
                 dimension E2 
                 in moisture resistance 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 600 
                 1000 
                 99 
                 79 
                 0 
                 200 
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     As a result, in a case where the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  of the base film  19  was 0 μm, moisture resistance was unstable and a short circuit occurred in some cases. Accordingly, it was confirmed that when the main-surface-covering portion  192  of the base film  19  is not formed on the main surface  11   c , moisture infiltrates in between the base film  19  and the ceramic body  11 , and the moisture resistance is made unstable. Further, it was confirmed that the defect rate is particularly low in a case where the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  of the base film  19  is in the range of 20 to 40 μm, and samples with high moisture resistance are obtained. 
     Further, it was confirmed that in a case where the height dimension T′ of the ceramic body  11 , which is particularly low in height, is 30 μm or more and 60 μm or less, and in a case where the main-surface-covering dimension E 1  is smaller than the height dimension T′, the moisture resistance becomes sufficiently high. 
     4. OTHER EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinabove, the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described, but the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment described above, and it should be appreciated that the present disclosure may be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. For example, the embodiment of the present disclosure can be an embodiment in which some embodiments are combined. 
     In the embodiment described above, the multi-layer ceramic capacitor  10  has been described as an example of a multi-layer ceramic electronic component, but the present disclosure can be applied to any other multi-layer ceramic electronic components each including a pair of external electrodes. Examples of such multi-layer ceramic electronic components include a chip varistor, a chip thermistor, and a multi-layer inductor.