Physical origin of residual thermal stresses in a multilayer ceramic capacitor

The physical origin of the residual stresses developed in the ceramic layer of the active region in a multilayer ceramic capacitor was numerically investigated. The compressive in-plane stress components sigma(11) and sigma(22) originate without regard to the presence of the margins but rather from the difference in in-plane thermal shrinkage between ceramic and metal electrode. The out-of-plane stress component sigma(33) physically originates mainly through the presence of the housing margin; the presence of the lateral margin is a minor source: the more ceramic-rich margins hinder the apparent vertical shrinkage of the active region to yield tensile sigma(33). (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.