IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPONENTS, HYBRIDS, AND MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 12, NO.
I , MARCH 1989 121
Rapid Nondestructive Testing of Ceramic
Multilayer Capacitors
OTMAR BOSER, PAULETTE KELLAWON,
Abstruct-A rapid nondestructive test method for ceramic multilayer
capacitors made from piezoelectric materials such as barium titanate or
lead-containing materials is described and evaluated. The test method is
based on the internal excitation of standing acoustic waves in the
capacitor. The standing waves are severely dampened by defects such as
delaminations and pores. An undampened resonance is a good indication
of a defect-free ceramic multilayer capacitor.
In addition, a high-speed automated test setup was evaluated that has
the potential of the testing of 180 OOO capacitors per hour with a sorting
accuracy of about 92 percent.
INTRODUCTION
C ERAMIC multilayer capacitors are composite structures
made from alternating layers of metal (electrodes) and
ceramic (dielectric material). As can be imagined, joining
such different materials into a monolithic structure presents
problems especially since the sintering of the ceramic takes
place between 1200°C and 1500°C depending on the type of
ceramic. The electrodes are generally much thinner than the
dielectric and the former can act as crack initiation sites if the
ceramic multilayer capacitor has not been heat-treated care-
fully. Therefore, it is possible to have delaminations between
electrode and ceramic that cannot be detected by capacitance
measurements. Currently delaminations are detected in a
destructive fashion, i.e., the production is sampled periodi-
cally and the ceramic multilayer capacitors are metallographi-
cally inspected. If the samples tested do not show delamina-
tions the whole batch is declared good.
Nondestructive testing of ceramic capacitors is difficult,
because the testing method has to be rapid, efficient, and low-
cost. Different test methods have been proposed: neutron
irradiation [11, scanning acoustic microscope [2], and acoustic
emission [3]. All test methods have shown a measure of
success. In the following, a new nondestructive test method [4]
for Z5U and X7R capacitors will be discussed that has the
advantage of being rapid, efficient, and low-cost.
NONDESTRUCTIVE
TESTMETHOD
Most ceramic multilayer capacitors are made from piezo-
electric materials. Therefore, capacitors that are biased with a
dc field become temporarily poled and can act as transducers
and exhibit mechanical resonances. As shown elsewhere [5]-
[7], mechanical resonances are affected by density variations
in the structures under test. Delaminations in ceramic multi-
Manuscript received February 25, 1988; revised September 20, 1988.
The authors are with Philips Laboratories, North American Philips
Corporation, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510.
IEEE Log Number 8824724.
0148-641 1/89/03OO-0121$01.OO O 1989 IEEE
AND RICHARD GEYER
layer capacitors represent such density variations, that can
shift or even inhibit the appearance of the acoustic resonances
depending on the size of the delamination. The nature of the
resonances was studied as a function of capacitor size [8]. It
was found that only longitudinal acoustic waves can be excited.
The frequencies of the main acoustic resonances are deter-
mined by the three dimensions of the capacitor. The width
resonance, i.e., the resonance produced by a standing wave
parallel to the electrodes and perpendicular to the line
connecting the contacts is usually the most pronounced. The
optimum bias voltage was found to be 50 V or 1.5 MV/m for
Z5U capacitors and 200 V or 7 MV/m for X7R capacitors. At
that voltage, the width resonance exhibits the lowest losses.
A similar test procedure was proposed recently for trans-
ducers [9]. The difference between transducers and capacitors
is their poling behavior: Transducers can be permanently
poled whereas capacitors are poled only as long as the dc bias
is applied.
To determine the resonance behavior of the capacitors, the
capacitance and impedance of the ceramic multilayer capaci-
tors were measured with a Hewlett-Packard low-frequency
impedance analyzer, HP model 4192A, that has a frequency
range from 5 Hz to 13 MHz. The impedance analyzer was
controlled by an HP computer, model 9836, that made it
possible to sweep the frequency over the frequency range of
the resonance and print out the results on an HP plotter.
The impedance analyzer has a built-in dc bias of up to 35 V.
For measurements with a larger bias, a sample holder was
constructed according to the HP manual [lo]. This sample
holder allowed the use of bias voltages of up to 200 V. The
setup was calibrated in the shorted and open conditions at the
upper frequency of the swept frequency range.
TESTSAMPLES
AND MECHANICAL
RESONANCES
As test samples Z5U capacitors with nominal dimensions of
0.10 x 0.05 x 0.05 in (2.5 x 1.25 x 1.25 mm), i.e., size
1005, were used with a capacitance value of 20 nF. The test
batch of ceramic capacitors showed an exceptionally large
incidence of delaminations. With the sound velocity estimated
in [8] as about 5000 m/s one obtains for the length and width
resonance 1 and 2 MHz, respectively. However, it has to be
remembered that the cross section of the capacitor is square
and hence different modes than the ones assumed in [8] can
appear that lead to deviations from the calculated resonance
frequency.
The impedance of the Z5U capacitors of size 1005 was
measured with the above described test setup in the frequency
I22 I F F t TRANSACTIOKS O S COMPOUESTS. HYBRIDS. .Ah[) \t.ANCFACTUKING I ECHNOLOGY. VOL 1 2 . NO I . MARCH I989

200 GOOD

-
2
160

-
I
0
W
0
120 ~

z
4 60
0 I .

w - 005"
a
2 40
(a)
0 ~- BAD

zoo I

160 -
E
-
I
0
120
W
0 TYPE Z5U
z
a 60 SIZE . 0.10"x 0.05'
x 0.05"
0 CAPACITANCE : IOOnF
?U
a
2 40 (b)
Fig. 2 . (a) Micrograph of capacitor of size I005 that is free of delamina-
tions. (b) Micrograph of capacitor of size 1005 that contains a delamination.
0 -
0

B R E A K D O W N TEST DELAMINATION TEST

Fig. I . (a) Impedance versus frequencq for a delamination-free capacitor (20

nF) of size 1005 biased with SO V . (b) Impedance versus frequency for a
R1
capacitor with delaminations (20 nF) of sire 1005 biased with SO V .

range between 0.5 and 3.5 MHz with a 50-V bias. The results
are shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. l(a) the impedance versus
frequency curve of a good capacitor is shown whereas in Fig.
I(b) the same is shown for a delaminated capacitor. The
difference in the impedance at antiresonance between the good
and the delaminated capacitor is quite pronounced. This
difference in impedance is a good measure to determine the
quality of a ceramic capacitor.
Due to the square cross section. the width and the thickness
resonances occur at the same frequency (nominally 2 MHz). Fig. 3. Circuit diagram of the automated test oscillator.
The coincidence of the two standing waves perpendicular to
each other leads to a new vibrational mode that has a be no oscillations. The circuit is shown in Fig. 3. The op-amp,
resonance frequency of 1.8 MHz, slightly lower than the one and R3 and R4 form a noninverting amplifier with a gain of
predicted for single standing waves.
To confirm the suggestion that the change in impedance at Gain = ( R3+ R 4 ) / R 4 . (1)
antiresonance is caused by delaminations, the capacitors were
The resistor R5 lowers the gain of the amplifier at low
cut and polished. Fig. 2 shows the micrographs of the
frequencies to prevent spurious oscillations, and C , bypasses
capacitors and it confirms that the capacitor tested in Fig. l(a)
R5 at the antiresonance frequency of the capacitor under test
is good and the one tested in Fig. l(b) is delaminated.
(C,). The capacitor C2is a blocking capacitor and prevents the
OsCIu.-\mK TESTSETUP polling voltage from reaching the op-amp. At the antireso-
nance frquency the resistor R I and the impedance Z,, divide
To accelerate the testing of ceramic multilayer capacitors an
the output signal of the amplifier by the following factor:
oscillator test circuit was proposed that is combined with a
breakdown and poling test setup. The test circuit was designed
as a marginally stable oscillator circuit. where the antireso-
nance frequency of the capacitor determines the frequency of
oscillation and the magnitude of the antiresonance impedance where Z,, is the impedance of the capacitor under test at the
determines whether oscillations occur: If the impedance is antiresonance frequency. This divided signal is applied to the
high the capacitor is good and oscillations occur, however, if input of the amplifier. The condition for oscillation is that the
delaminations are present the impedance is low and there will gain of the amplifier and the voltage divider is greater than
BOSER er a1 TESTING OF CERAMIC MULTILAYER CAPACITORS 123

capacitors of the 50 with delaminations indeed had delarnina-

i tions and only one of the 50 that were supposed to be
delamination-free had a delamination. That means that the
VOLTAGE ON
above testing resulted in a correct identification of the
TEST CAPACITOR delaminated and delamination-free capacitors with a 92-
percent accuracy.
I
CONCLUSION

OUTPUT OF
OP-AMP
’
1
The test results show that a ceramic multilayer capacitor can
be nondestructively tested in a time span of about 20 ms. This
translates into 180 OOO capacitors an hour. In addition. the
nondestructive test setup can be integrated with the standard
voltage breakdown test reducing capital investment to a
minimum. The accuracy of the test is good and hence it can be
’1 SWITCH 2
OPEN
SWITCH 2
CLOSED
1
1
concluded that the above method is a rapid, efficient, and low-
cost nondestructive testing method for ceramic multilayer
I capacitors.
I I
k-- - 20ms ~ 4
SWITCH 1 OPEN SWITCH 1 CLOSED
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Fig. 4 . Schematic of the timing necessary during testing. The authors want to thank Dr. S. Long, Mepco/Centralab,
Los Angeles, CA for the samples and the support of this
investigation.
unity or
REFERENCES
(3) G . F. Kiernan, “Comparison of screening techniques for ceramic
capacitors,” in Proc. Symp. (held at Marshall Space Flight Center),
NASA Conf. Publ. 2186, Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama,
It should be remembered that resistors R2 and R6 shunt the 1981.
impedance Z,, of the capacitor under test, so that the effective C. L. Vorres, D. E. Yuhas, and L. W. Kessler “Non-destructive
evaluation of ceramic chip capacitors by means of the scanning laser
value of Zar is somewhat lower than the impedance at acoustic microscope, ” in Proc. 2nd Capacitor and Resistor Technol-
antiresonance. ogy Symp., pp. F31-1 to 3-6, Components Technology Inst., Suite
1122-K, 303 Williams Ave., Huntville, AB 35801, 1982.
HIGH-SPEED
NONDESTRUCTIVE
TESTING
AND RESULTS S . R. Kahn and R. W. Checkaneck, “Acoustic emission testing of
multilayer ceramic capacitors,” IEEE Trans. Comp. Hybrids,
In a nondestructive test the capacitor to be tested (CJ is Manuf. Technol., vol. CHMT-6, pp. 517-526, 1983.
inserted in the test setup with both switches closed. The test 0. Boser, US Patent 4 644 259, Feb. 1987.
V. M. Baranov and E. M. Kudryavtsev, “Application of the ultrasonic
starts by opening switch 1 to apply the poling voltage to the resonance method in the inspection of small products.” Sov. J .
capacitor. A period of 5 ms was found to be enough to let all Nondestruct. Testing, vol. 15, pp. 750-755, 1980.
transients die out in Z5U capacitors. Then switch 2 was L. R. Testardi, S . I. Norton, and T. Hsieh, “Determination of
inhomogeneities of elastic modulus and density for one-dimensional
opened to start the oscillations. It was left open for 12 ms. structures using acoustic dimensional resonances.” J . Appl. fhys.,
Then switch 2 and switch 1 are closed again. This sequence of vol. 56, pp. 2681-2685, 1984.
events is illustrated in Fig. 4. It shows that a nondestructive -, “Acoustic dimensional resonance tomography: Some examples
in one-dimensional systems,” J . Appl. Phys.. vol. 59, pp. 55-58,
test can be performed in less that 20 ms. For the actual test the 1985.
critical impedance Z,, to start oscillations was set at 127 Q 0. Boser, “Electromagnetic resonances in ceramic capacitors and
(effective value 112 0). evaluation of the piezoelectric materials’ properties,” Adv. Cer. Mat.,
vol. 2 , pp. 167-172, 1987.
A batch of 954 capacitors of size 1005 was tested. Of these, W. W. Wolney and K. Breboel, “An NDT-method of detection of
244 tested free of delaminations and 710 had delaminations. internal defects in piezoceramic transducers,” IEEE Trans. Ultrason.
From each of these two groups 50 capacitors were chosen at Ferroelec. Freq. Contr., vol. UFFC-33, p. 817, 1986.
Operations and Service Manual for Model #4192A Impedance
random for destructive testing. Metallographic preparation Analyser, Yokogawa-Hewlett-Packard Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, Mar.
techniques at different hights in the capacitor showed that 46 1983.