Method of manufacturing ceramic electronic component
A manufacturing method that enables an electrode to be formed on a specific portion of a surface of a sintered ceramic body by a simple technique. A method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component includes preparing a sintered ceramic body that contains a metal oxide, and forming low-resistance portions that is formed by reducing the resistance of portions of the ceramic body by radiating laser onto electrode-formation regions of surfaces of the ceramic body. The method further includes causing a catalytic metal to selectively adhere to the low-resistance portions by immersing the ceramic body, in which the low-resistance portions have been formed, in a catalytic metal substitution treatment solution, and forming a plating layer that serves as an electrode onto the low-resistance portions by performing electroless plating on the ceramic body to which the catalytic metal has adhered.
1. A method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component, the method comprising:
preparing a sintered ceramic body that contains a metal oxide;
forming a low-resistance portion comprised of a plurality of regularly spaced marks that is formed by reducing a resistance of a portion of the ceramic body by performing local heating on an electrode-formation region of a surface of the ceramic body;
causing a catalytic metal to adhere to the low-resistance portion by immersing the ceramic body, in which the low-resistance portion has been formed, in a catalytic metal substitution treatment solution; and
forming a plating layer that serves as an electrode onto the low-resistance portion by performing electroless plating on the ceramic body to which the catalytic metal has adhered,
wherein the plating layer that serves as the electrode is a single continuous plating layer formed from the plurality of regularly spaced marks.
2. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 1 ,
wherein the local heating is any one of local heating using laser radiation, local heating using electron-beam radiation, and local heating using an image furnace.
3. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 2 ,
wherein the low-resistance portion includes a reduced layer that is formed as a result of a metal oxide contained in the ceramic body being partly reduced.
4. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 2 ,
wherein the catalytic metal substitution treatment solution is any one of a Pd substitution treatment solution, an Ag substitution treatment solution, and a Cu substitution treatment solution.
5. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 2 , wherein
the ceramic electronic component is a chip component, and
an outer electrode is formed of the plating layer on an outer surface of the chip component.
6. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 2 , wherein
the ceramic body is a ferrite core that includes flange portions that are formed at opposite ends of the ferrite core and a winding core portion that is formed between the flange portions, and
outer electrodes to which two end portions of a coil are connected are formed of the plating layer on the flange portions of the ferrite core.
7. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 2 , wherein
the ceramic electronic component is a ceramic wiring board, and
a wiring electrode is formed of the plating layer on a surface of the ceramic wiring board.
8. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 1 ,
wherein the low-resistance portion includes a reduced layer that is formed as a result of a metal oxide contained in the ceramic body being partly reduced.
9. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 8 , wherein
the ceramic body includes ferrite, and
the low-resistance portion includes a reduced layer that is formed as a result of a metal oxide contained in the ferrite being partly reduced.
10. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 4 ,
wherein the catalytic metal substitution treatment solution causes a catalytic metal to substitute for a metal that had been reduced from the metal oxide during forming the low-resistance portion in the reduced layer.
11. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 4 ,
wherein the catalytic metal substitution treatment solution is any one of a Pd substitution treatment solution, an Ag substitution treatment solution, and a Cu substitution treatment solution.
12. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 8 ,
wherein the catalytic metal substitution treatment solution causes a catalytic metal to substitute for a metal that had been reduced from a corresponding metal oxide during forming the low-resistance portion in the reduced layer.
13. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 8 ,
wherein the catalytic metal substitution treatment solution is any one of a Pd substitution treatment solution, an Ag substitution treatment solution, and a Cu substitution treatment solution.
14. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 8 , wherein
the ceramic electronic component is a chip component, and
an outer electrode is formed of the plating layer on an outer surface of the chip component.
15. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 8 , wherein
the ceramic body is a ferrite core that includes flange portions that are formed at opposite ends of the ferrite core and a winding core portion that is formed between the flange portions, and
outer electrodes to which two end portions of a coil are connected are formed of the plating layer on the flange portions of the ferrite core.
16. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 8 , wherein
the ceramic electronic component is a ceramic wiring board, and
a wiring electrode is formed of the plating layer on a surface of the ceramic wiring board.
17. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 1 ,
wherein the catalytic metal substitution treatment solution is any one of a Pd substitution treatment solution, an Ag substitution treatment solution, and a Cu substitution treatment solution.
18. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 1 , wherein
the ceramic electronic component is a chip component, and
an outer electrode is formed of the plating layer on an outer surface of the chip component.
19. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 1 , wherein
the ceramic body is a ferrite core that includes flange portions that are formed at opposite ends of the ferrite core and a winding core portion that is formed between the flange portions, and
outer electrodes to which two end portions of a coil are connected are formed of the plating layer on the flange portions of the ferrite core.
20. The method of manufacturing a ceramic electronic component according to claim 1 , wherein
the ceramic electronic component is a ceramic wiring board, and
a wiring electrode is formed of the plating layer on a surface of the ceramic wiring board.