Patent ID: 8184427

Claim:
A multilayer ceramic capacitor, comprising ceramic dielectric layers, inner electrode layers between the ceramic dielectric layers and external electrodes electrically connected to the inner electrode layers, wherein the ceramic dielectric layer is made of dielectric ceramics comprising crystal grains that have an average grain diameter of 0.15 to 0.3 μm and contain: barium titanate as a main component; 0.5 to 2 molar parts of magnesium based on MgO per 100 molar parts of barium titanate; 0.2 to 0.5 molar parts of manganese based on MnO per 100 molar parts of barium titanate; and 0.7 to 3 molar parts of a total amount of one first rare earth element (RE) selected from holmium, yttrium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium and one second rare earth element (RE) selected from samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium and dysprosium, and wherein the crystal grains contain the first rare earth element and the second rare earth element such that contain the first rare earth element is contained more than the second rare earth element, wherein the concentration gradient of the first rare earth element from the grain boundary to the center of the crystal grain is −0.005 atom %/nm or more and −0.05 atom %/nm or less, and the concentration gradient of the second rare earth element from the grain boundary to the center of the crystal grain is −0.0005 atom %/nm or more and −0.005 atom %/nm or less.