Trimmable composite multilayer capacitor and method

A trimmable composite multilayer capacitor exhibiting a high quality factor Q and permitting efficient functional trimming over a wide range while in a circuit, comprising:

• a capacitor body defined by a plurality of interleaved first and second electrodes spaced apart by dielectric material, said plurality for establishing a fixed capacitance, said capacitor body being sintered at a first temperature;
• a trimmable outermost electrode on said capacitor body capable of depletion for particularly selecting an overall capacitance of said capacitor, said trimmable outermost electrode being sintered with said capacitor body at a second temperature which is less than said first temperature and which prevents substantial migration of said trimmable outermost electrode into an underlying dielectric layer of said capacitor body;
• and
• first and second terminations at respective first and second ends of said capacitor body, said first termination being connected to said first electrodes and to said trimmable outermost electrode, said second termination being connected to said second electrodes.

A trimmable composite multilayer capacitor exhibiting a high quality factor Q and permintting efficient functional trimming over a wide range while in a circuit, comprising:

• a capacitor body defined by a plurality of interleaved first and second electrodes spaced apart by dielectric material, for establishing a fixed capacitance;
• first and second terminations at respective first and second ends of said capacitor body, and connected respectively to said first and second electrodes;
• a trimmable outermost electrode on said capacitor body connected to said first termination, said outermost electrode capable of depletion so that the overall capacitance of said capacitor is selectable, said outermost electrode being sintered to said capacitor body at a temperature which prevents substantial migration of said outermost electrode into an underlying dielectric layer;
• and
• a solder barrier situated externally over said outermost electrode near said first termination to prevent solder from covering said outermost electrode to optimize trimmability.