Britannica Sources used in this answer

How do multilayer ceramic capacitors avoid the fragility problem of thin disk capacitors?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Figure 1: Ferroelectric properties of barium titanate (BaTiO3). (Left) Above 120° C the structure of the BaTiO3 crystal is cubic, and there is no net polarization of charge; (right) below 120° C the structure changes to tetragonal, shifting the relative positions of the ions and causing a concentration of positive and negative charges toward opposite ends of the crystal. — capacitor dielectric and piezoelectric ceramics Figure 1: Ferroelectric properties of barium titanate (BaTiO₃). (Left) Above 120° C the structure of the BaTiO₃ crystal is cubic, and there is no net polarization of charge; (right) below 120° C the structure changes to tetragonal, shifting the relative positions of the ions and causing a concentration of positive and negative charges toward opposite ends of the crystal.

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCs) avoid the fragility associated with thin disk capacitors by utilizing a different structural design. While the capacitance of disk capacitors can be increased by making them thinner, this process inherently leads to fragility.1

In contrast, MLCs achieve high capacitance by interleaving multiple thin dielectric and electrode layers rather than relying on a single, increasingly thin disk. These layers are processed using techniques such as tape casting or doctor blading, allowing for individual dielectric layers as thin as 5 micrometres. The entire assembly is then diced into cubes and cofired, creating a monolithic structure that provides large capacitance while maintaining structural integrity. This design allows MLCs to be small, cost-effective, and suitable for surface mounting on circuit boards, making them a preferred alternative to disk capacitors in most modern electronic circuitry.1