Multilayer ceramic capacitor

A multilayer ceramic capacitor comprising:

• a multilayer body including a plurality of stacked dielectric layers, a plurality of stacked inner electrode layers, a first main surface and a second main surface facing each other in a height direction, a first side surface and a second side surface facing each other in a width direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the height direction, and a first end surface and a second end surface facing each other in a length direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the height direction and the width direction;
• and
• an outer electrode layer on the multilayer body and connected to some of the plurality of inner electrode layers;
• wherein
• when crystal orientations of crystal grains in the plurality of dielectric layers are measured by electron backscatter diffraction, about 2% or more of all crystal grains are crystal grains each of which is in contact with another crystal grain whose difference in crystal orientation from the corresponding crystal grain is within about 5 degrees with respect to a predetermined direction.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor comprising:

• a multilayer body including a plurality of stacked dielectric layers, a plurality of stacked inner electrode layers, a first main surface and a second main surface facing each other in a height direction, a first side surface and a second side surface facing each other in a width direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the height direction, and a first end surface and a second end surface facing each other in a length direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the height direction and the width direction;
• and
• an outer electrode layer on the multilayer body and connected to some of the plurality of inner electrode layers;
• wherein
• a value of second average grain size/first average grain size is about 1.0 or more;
• where the first average grain size is a median diameter of crystal grains in the plurality of dielectric layers determined by observation with a scanning transmission electron microscope, and the second average grain size is a median diameter of crystal grains each defining two adjacent crystal grains between which a misorientation angle is within about 5 degrees with respect to a predetermined direction when crystal orientations of the crystal grains in the dielectric layers are measured by electron backscatter diffraction.