Influence of BaTiO₃ Sources and Dopant Levels on Annealing of BME X7R Formulations

Several dielectric compositions for high capacitance BME (Base Metal Electrode) MLCC (multilayer ceramic capacitor) applications were studied in order to correlate synthesis technique and dopant level to the effectiveness of re-oxidation condition. All formulations were based on BaTiO₃ precursors which were synthesized from either a solid state or a precipitated oxalate technique. The intention of this study was to investigate the intrinsic relationship between the reoxidation conditions and the electrical properties (including HALT) of the final MLCC's and then correlate this information with synthesis technique and dopant level. The reoxidation conditions investigated in this study were temperature (800–1000°C), PO₂ (7–53 PPM's) and soak time (3–9 hrs).

Keywords:

• BaTiO₃
• BME
• X7R
• annealing
• re-oxidation
• reliability

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the following people for their respective contributions. Everette Davis, Rey Galgana, Howard Baube, Sandra Witter, Mike Johnson, Diane Phillip, Lori Monroe, Doug Reagan, Kelly McKay, Paul Miller and Brian Hale.