Laminated ceramic capacitor and method of manufacturing laminated ceramic capacitor

1 . A laminated ceramic capacitor, comprising:

a body having a first internal electrode layer, a second internal electrode layer, and a ceramic layer disposed between the first internal electrode layer and the second internal electrode layer, the ceramic layer being formed of ceramic material containing a sintering agent composed mainly of a sintering agent element;

a first external electrode provided on the body so as to be electrically connected to the first internal electrode layer; and

a second external electrode provided on the body so as to be electrically connected to the second internal electrode layer,

wherein the first internal electrode layer includes an electrode part and a non-electrode part, the electrode part being formed of a sintered compact of a main component metal element, the non-electrode part being surrounded by the electrode part and containing the sintering agent element, and

wherein a first concentration indicating a concentration of the sintering agent element in the non-electrode part is higher than a second concentration indicating a concentration of the sintering agent element in an interface between the first internal electrode layer and the ceramic layer.

2 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 1 ,

wherein the ceramic layer contains a plurality of crystal grains each formed of a sintered compact of the ceramic material, and

wherein the first concentration is higher than a third concentration indicating a concentration of the sintering agent element in grain boundaries of the crystal grains.

3 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 2 , wherein the third concentration is higher than the second concentration.

4 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 2 , wherein the third concentration is 0.5 at % or lower.

5 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 2 , wherein a ratio of the first concentration to the third concentration is 10 or greater.

6 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 2 , wherein in the ceramic layer, a number of the crystal grains interposed between the first internal electrode layer and the second internal electrode layer is three or less.

7 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 1 , wherein the first concentration is 10 at % or higher.

8 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 1 , wherein the second concentration is 0.5 at % or lower.

9 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 1 , further comprising:

an intermediate layer disposed between the first internal electrode layer and the ceramic layer, the intermediate layer containing a secondary element different from the main component metal element,

wherein the secondary element is at least one element selected from the group consisting of As, Au, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, In, Ir, Mg, Os, Pd, Pt, Re, Rh, Ru, Se, Sn, Ge, Te, W, Y, Ag, and Mo, and

wherein a fourth concentration indicating a concentration of the secondary element in the intermediate layer is higher than a fifth concentration indicating a concentration of the secondary element in the first internal electrode layer.

10 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 1 , wherein the sintering agent is a low-melting glass.

11 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 10 , wherein the low-melting glass contains at least one substance selected from the group consisting of SiO 2 , B 2 O 3 , and mixtures of these.

12 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 10 , wherein the low-melting glass is borosilicate glass or phosphate glass.

13 . The laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 1 , wherein the sintering agent is B 2 O 3 powder, P 2 O 5 powder, or a mixture of these.

14 . A circuit module comprising the laminated ceramic capacitor of claim 1 .

15 . An electronic device comprising the circuit module of claim 14 .