Importance

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Abstract

In a first embodiment, a trimmable composite multilayer capacitor (10) is fabricated with a novel process so that the capacitor (10) exhibits a high quality factor Q and is capable of efficient and accurate functional trimming over a wide range while in a circuit. The capacitor (10) comprises a capacitor body (12) defined by a plurality of interleaved first and second electrodes (14, 16) spaced apart by dielectric material. The plurality establishes a fixed capacitance value. The plurality is co-fired at a first temperature. A trimmable outermost electrode (14') is disposed on the exterior of the capacitor body (12) and is capable of depletion for particularly selecting the overall capacitance value of the capacitor (10). The trimmable outermost electrode is sintered on the capacitor body (12) at a second temperature which is less than the first temperature. Finally, first and second terminations (24, 26) are positioned at the ends of the capacitor body (12). The first termination is connected to the first electrodes (14) and to the trimmable outermost electrode (14'), whereas the second termination is connected to the second electrodes (16). In a second embodiment, a trimmable outermost electrode is disposed as described above over the capacitor body (12) defined by the plurality of interleaved first and second electrodes (14, 16). Significantly, a solder barrier is situated externally over a portion of the trimmable outermost electrode (14') near the first termination to prevent solder from covering the trimmable outermost electrode.

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First Claim