Application of Weibull distribution analysis to the dielectric failure of multilayer ceramic capacitors

The Weibull distribution has been previously applied to the mechanical and dielectric failures of ceramics. In this paper, it is confirmed by experiment that this data treatment method is also valid for application in the dielectric failure of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCs) which have undergone screening. The Weibull modulus is found to be a useful parameter indicating the sharpness of the distribution of breakdown voltages and mechanical strength of MLCs. By Weibull analysis, the lately developed relaxor-based MLCs are found to compare favorably with traditional barium-titanate-based MLCs, implying that relaxor MLCs are more attractive than generally realised. © 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.