The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) servers and high-performance computing systems has significantly elevated the technical and reliability requirements for multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). In such systems, MLCCs are critical passive components that must deliver high capacitance, fast transient response, and robust insulation performance under high temperature, voltage, and current density. This review examines the material, structural, and process innovations that underpin MLCC performance in AI applications. Key topics include the development of ultrathin dielectric layers (<0.5 μm), rare-earth doped BaTiO₃-based dielectrics with enhanced DC bias stability, and core-shell microstructures designed for temperature and field resilience. The paper also explores insulation degradation mechanisms―such as vacancydriven conduction and demixing―and advanced reliability assessment methodologies, including HALT, TSDC, and the tipping point framework. Comparisons with automotive-grade MLCCs highlight the unique requirements of AI systems, such as ultraminiaturization, high volumetric efficiency, and ppm-level field failure rates. Finally, the review discusses emerging trends in MLCC technology, including particle engineering, interface stabilization, and advanced lamination techniques, and provides insight into the future direction of capacitor development tailored to AI data center environments.
The growing demand for thinner, lighter, and more energy-efficient electronic systems has driven the development of acoustic technologies toward compact and flexible sound generation platforms. Despite significant progress, conventional electromagnetic speakers remain limited by bulky structures, energy losses, and poor compatibility with modern ultrathin devices. In this review, recent advancements in piezoelectric acoustic systems are presented, demonstrating a new generation of speakers capable of producing high-fidelity sound from ultra-slim, lightweight, and mechanically compliant designs. Through refined structural configurations and efficient electromechanical coupling, these piezoelectric exciters achieve strong acoustic output, fast response, and wide frequency operation while drastically reducing component thickness. These exciters also show their suitability for seamless integration into flexible displays, wearable devices, and automotive panels, offering enhanced spatial audio practicality and multifunctional operation, including demonstrative output and sensing. This advancement marks a step toward the convergence of acoustic, haptic, and interactive technologies, for the realization of sustainable and immersive humanmachine interfaces in future electronic and automotive systems.
Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) are essential for high-capacitance, miniaturized, and reliable electronic applications. This study examines the impact of layer stacking on the dielectric and electrical properties of MLCCs using a BaTiO₃-based dielectric with MgO, Mn₃O₄, Yb₂O₃, V₂O5, and (BaCa)SiO₃ glass additives. MLCCs with 10 um-thick dielectric layers and varying Ni electrode layers (10, 30, 50, and 100 layers) were fabricated. The dielectric constant increases significantly up to 30 layers due to compressive stress and sintering densification but it becomes linear beyond 30 layers. Dissipation factor and ESR decrease with higher stacking due to improved sinterability, while breakdown voltage declines exponentially from defect accumulation and thermal stress. Insulation resistance decreases but stabilizes relative to capacitance. C-V results show stress-induced polarization suppression, which reduces the dielectric constant under high voltage. Optimized stacking and sintering conditions are crucial for MIL-PRF-32535 compliant MLCC designs.
This study examined the crystallinity and potential of BaTiO₃ powder, prepared by hydrothermal synthesis at 60 nm, as a dielectric material for automotive MLCCs under varying heat treatment temperatures. At temperatures above 850℃, the powder exhibited an orthorhombic structure, with crystallinity and particle size increasing as the temperature rose. In the range of 850~900℃, the powder displayed a uniform particle size distribution and minimal agglomeration, with particles ranging between 150~200 nm. Additionally, it was confirmed that the heat treatment temperature significantly impacts the properties of BaTiO₃ powder, which are critical for the dielectric performance required in X7R MLCCs used in automotive applications. Specifically, high-temperature treatment (above 850℃) was essential for enhancing the powder's crystallinity and forming a stable core-shell structure, which is crucial for achieving stable TCC (Temperature Coefficient of Capacitance) characteristics. It was confirmed that increased crystallinity at temperatures above 850℃ facilitated the development of the core-shell structure through interactions with additives, thereby achieving the necessary characteristics required for highly reliable automotive MLCCs.
Multilayered actuators using Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PIN-PT) crystals have demonstrated excellent properties, but are costly and lack mechanical strength. Textured PMN-PIN-PT ceramics exhibit robust mechanical strength and comparable properties to their single crystals form. However, the development of multilayered actuators using textured PMN-PIN-PT ceramics has not been achieved until now. This study presents the development of a multilayered actuator using textured 0.37PMN-0.29PIN-0.34PT ceramics with an Ag0.9/Pd0.1 inner electrode, co-fired at 950℃. A random 0.37PMN- 0.29PIN-0.34PT ceramics multilayered actuator was also developed for comparison. The multilayered actuator consisted of 9 ceramic layers (36 μm thickness) with an overall actuator thickness of 0.401 mm. The textured and random 0.37PMN-0.29PIN- 0.34PT ceramics-based multilayered actuators achieved displacements of 0.61 μm (0.15% strain) and 0.23 μm (0.057% strain) at a low applied peak voltage of 100 V. These results suggest that the developed multilayered actuator using high-performance textured 0.37PMN-0.29PIN-0.34PT ceramics has the potential to replace expensive single crystal-based actuators costeffectively.
Recently, as power and electronic devices have increased in frequency and capacity, it has become a major concern to protect electronic circuits and electronic components used in these devices from abnormal voltages such as various surges and pulse noise. To respond to variously rated voltages applied to power electronic devices, the rated voltages of various varistors can be obtained by controlling the size of internal particles of the varistor or controlling the number of layers of the varistor. During bonding, the problem of unbalanced thermal runaway occurring between the electrode and the varistor interface causes degradation of the varistor and shortens its life of the varistor. In this study, to solve the problem of unbalanced heat distribution of stacked varistors to adjust the operating voltage, the contents of the ZnO-based varistor composition were 96 wt% ZnO, 1 mol% Sb2O3, 1 mol% Bi2O3, 0.5 mol% CoO, 0.5 mol% MnO, and 1 mol% TiO2. A multi-layered ZnO varistor was modeled by bonding a single varistor with a composition in three layers according to the operating voltage. The thermal distribution of the triple-layered ZnO varistor was analyzed for the thermal runaway phenomenon that occurred during varistor operation using the finite element method according to Comsol 5.2.
Energy storage capacitors based on dielectric ceramics with superior polarization properties and dielectric constant can provide much higher output power density due to their very fast energy charging/discharging rates, which are particularly suitable for operating pulsed-power devices. For an outstanding energy storage performance of dielectric capacitor, a large recoverable energy density could be derived by introducing a slim polarization-electric field hysteresis loop into dielectric materials by various technical approaches. Many research teams have explored various dielectric capacitor technologies to demonstrate high output power density and ultrafast charging/discharging behavior. This article reviews the recent research progress in high-performance dielectric capacitors for pulsed-power electronic applications.
In this study, we fabricated multilayer graphene on a glass substrate by stacking the monolayer graphene synthesized via chemical vapor deposition. The electrical sheet resistance and optical transmittance were evaluated to confirm the quality of the stacked multilayer graphene. Using the fabricated multilayer graphene/glass structure, we characterized its thermal radiative property in terms of the integrated emissivity. The integrated emissivity of the multilayer graphene/glass structure was tuned from 0.91 to 0.72 when the number of graphene layers was changed from 1 to 12. We also demonstrated that the emissivity tunability provided a way to control the apparent temperature of an object that can be used in infrared stealth applications.
A flat-type piezoelectric ceramic ultrasonic transmitter was successfully fabricated for application in acoustic devices with cone-free diaphragms. The transmitter, possessing a center frequency of 40.6 kHz, exhibited a higher displacement characteristic for a multilayer type compared with a single layer type. Surface roughness treatment of an Al elastic diaphragm influenced a slight increase (1.1 dB) in the sound pressure level (SPL) at 10 Vrms due to the enlarged surface area. The fabricated multilayer piezoelectric ceramic ultrasonic transmitter showed increasing SPL with increasing input voltage, with a maximum SPL of approximately 123.6 dB at 10 Vrms. This implies a doubly increased SPL density of 3.6 dB/mm3, superior to that of a commercial open-type transmitter with a cone.
Solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have the advantages of low cost, fast fabrication, and large-area devices. However, most studies on solution-processed OLEDs have mainly focused on solution-processable hole transporting materials or emissive materials. Here, we report fully solution-processed green OLEDs including hole/electron transport layers and emissive layers. The electrical and optical properties of OLEDs based on solution-processed TPBi (2,2′,2″-(1,3,5-Benzinetriyl)-tris(1-phenyl-1-H-benzimidazole)) as the electron transport layer were investigated with respect to the spin speed and the number of layers. The performance of OLEDs with solution-processed TPBi exhibits a power efficiency of 9.4 lm/W. We believe that the solution-processed electron transport layers can contribute to the development of efficient fully solution-processed multilayered OLEDs.
In this study, we investigated the effect of electrode pattern design on the thermal shock resistance and temperature uniformity of a ceramic heater. A cordierite substrate with a low thermal expansion coefficient was fabricated by tape casting, and a tungsten electrode was printed and used as a heating element. The temperature distribution of the ceramic heater was calculated by a finite-element method (FEM) by considering various electrode patterns, and the tensile stress distribution due to the thermal stress was calculated. In the electrode pattern with a single-line width, the central part of the ceramic heater was heated to the maximum temperature, and the position of the ceramic heater having a double-line width was changed to the maximum temperature, depending on the position of the minimum line width pattern. The highest tensile stress was found along the edges of the ceramic heater. The temperature gradient at the edge determined the tensile stress intensity. The smallest tensile stress was observed for electrode pattern D, which was expected to be advantageous in resisting thermal shock failures in ceramic heaters.
A comparative study has been attempted for microwave and conventional sintering of lead-freeBi0.5Na0.5TiO3(BNT)-based multilayer ceramic actuators(MLAs). It was found that microwave sintering(MWS) could be successfully applied to the co-firing of piezoceramic/AgPd MLAs with a 10 timesshorter firing cycle as well as 100℃ lower firing temperature (850℃) for sufficient densification thanconventional furnace sintering (950℃). Furthermore, MWS-derived specimens showed better electricfield-induced strain than that of CFS-derived specimens by effectively suppressing interdiffusions betweenceramic and electrode layers.
Transparent amorphous In-Si-O (ISO)/Ag/In-Si-O (ISO) has been reported for low emissivity(low-e) applications. Effective Si doping into the In2O3 matrix led to a completely amorphous ISO film aswell as a low resistivity and a high optical transmittance. The optical and electrical performances wereexamined by measuring transmittance with a UV-VIS spectrophotometer and resistivity with a Hall effectmeasurement. Consequently, low-e glass with ISO/Ag/ISO showed a high transparency in the visibleregion and low emissivity in the infrared region, indicating that ISO is a promising amorphoustransparent electrode for low-e glass.
By inserting a very thin metal layer of Ag between two outer oxide layers of amorphous silicon indium zinc oxide (SIZO), we fabricated a highly transparent SJZO/Ag/SIZO multilayer on a glass substrate. In order to find the optimized thickness of Ag layers, we investigated the variation of optical properties depending on Ag thickness. It was found that the transition of Ag layer from island formation to a continuous film occurred at a critical thickness. Continuity of the Ag film is very important for optical properties in SIZO/Ag/SIZO multilayer. With about 15 nm thick Ag layer, the multilayer showed a high optical transmittance of 80% at 550 nm and low emissivity in IR.
In this study, The RF magnetron sputter and evaporator was on glass substrates 30 mm × 30 mm OMO multilayer thin film structure is applied to the low-e. Structural and optical properties, a thin film was produced, the variable was placed into a variable deposition time of the oxide layer. According to the XRD measurement results there is no peak that satisfies the Bragg`s law (2dsinθ= nλ) which confirmed that it is an amorphous structure. RMS value of the results of the AFM measurement, has a roughness of less than 2 nm. transmittance measurements results, visible light region an average 80%, IR region 40% showed.
In this study, KNbO3-substituted (Li,Na,K)(Nb,Sb,Ta)O3 ceramics were investigated to develop Pb-free composition ceramics for multilayer actuator and energy harvester applications. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that all samples were pure perovskite phase and no secondary phase was found. A tetragonality as a function of KNbO3 substitution showed the maximum value at 1.5 mol% KNbO3 and then decreased. The SEM image analysis showed the maximum grain size of 3.14 ㎛ at 1.5mol% KNbO3. In the composition ceramics with 1.5 mol% KNbO3 sintered at 1,100℃, excellent properties of density= 4.75 g/cm3, electromechanical coupling factor (kp)= 0.50 and piezoelectric constant(d33)= 290 pC/N were obtained, respectively, suitable for piezoelectric actuator and energy harvester applications.