Method for manufacturing electronic component

A method for manufacturing an electronic component comprising the steps of:

• preparing an element assembly in which inner electrodes are embedded and including a pair of main surfaces, a pair of side surfaces respectively connecting the pair of main surfaces, and a pair of end surfaces respectively perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the pair of main surfaces and the pair of side surfaces;
• and
• providing an outer electrode on at least one of the surfaces of the element assembly so that the outer electrode is electrically connected with the inner electrodes;
• wherein
• the step of providing the outer electrode includes a step of providing a sintered layer including a sintered metal, a step of providing a reinforcement layer that does not contain Sn but includes Cu or Ni, a step of providing an insulation layer including an electric insulation material, and a step of providing a Sn-containing layer including Sn;
• in the step of providing the sintered layer, the sintered layer extends from each of the pair of end surfaces onto at least one of the main surfaces so as to cover each of the pair of end surfaces;
• in the step of providing the reinforcement layer, the reinforcement layer is provided so as to cover an entirety of the sintered layer;
• in the step of providing the insulation layer, the insulation layer is directly provided on the reinforcement layer at each of the pair of end surfaces to extend in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the pair of side surfaces so as to define a portion of a surface of the outer electrode;
• and
• in the step of providing the Sn-containing layer, the Sn-containing layer is provided to cover the reinforcement layer except for a portion of the reinforcement layer that is covered by the insulation layer so as to define another portion of the surface of the outer electrode.