Electronic device and manufacturing method thereof

• US 6,071,800 A
• Filed: 10/30/1998
• Issued: 06/06/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Taiyo Yuden Company Limited (Taiyo Yuden Co)
• Original Assignee: Taiyo Yuden Company Limited (Taiyo Yuden Co)
• Inventors: Ono, Yukio, Shigemoto, Hiroya
• Primary Examiner(s): Niebling, John F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HA T
• Application Number:
  US09/183,211
• Time in Patent Office: 585 Days
• Field of Search: 438/612, 438/610, 438/614, 438/615, 438/617, 438/111, 438/256, 438/113, 438/118, 438/119, 438/390, 438/123, 257/688, 257/735, 257/736, 257/766, 257/762, 257/772, 257/779, 257/781, 257/784, 361/306.1, 361/309
• US Class Current: 438/612
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/232 electrically connecting two or more layers of a stacked or rolled capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/3442 having edge contacts, e.g. leadless chip capacitors, chip carriers

Abstract

An electronic device has an element assembly, in which electronic parts elements are disposed, and external electrodes of metal film which are formed on surfaces of the element assembly of the electronic device so as to extend and connect to the electronic parts elements, respectively. Further, in this electronic device, the external electrode is made up of an anchor layer adhered on the surface of the element assembly of the electronic device, a solder-resist layer formed to cover the anchor layer, and a solder-wettable layer formed to cover a surface of the solder-resistant layer and showing a superior wettability with respect to molten solder, in which the external electrode further comprises an intermediate layer provided between the solder-resistant layer and the solder-wettable layer and made of an alloy containing both metal materials forming the solder-resistant layer and the solder-wettable layer.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing an electronic device comprising an element assembly made up of electronic parts elements and a metal film external electrode formed on a surface of the element assembly and connected to the electronic parts elements, in which the improvement comprises the steps of:

depositing an anchor layer containing a first metal on the surface of the element assembly by vacuum evaporation or sputtering;

depositing a solder-resistant layer containing a second metal on the surface of the anchor layer by vacuum evaporation or sputtering; and

depositing a solder-wettable layer containing a third metal on the surface of the solder-resistant layer by vacuum evaporation or sputtering and forming an intermediate layer containing an alloy of the second and third metals between the solder-resistant layer and the solder-wettable layer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said intermediate layer and said solder-wettable layer are formed continuously by adhering metal molecules forming said solder-wettable layer on said solder-resistant layer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said external electrode is formed in a vacuum chamber without returning a pressure within said chamber to an atmospheric pressure.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said intermediate layer contains crystals of said alloy having a particle size no greater than 1.5 μ

m.