An outer electrode includes a glass-free sintered layer containing no glass. A glass-free conductive paste is provided and includes a conductive metal powder and a thermosetting resin, the conductive metal powder including an alloy of tin and at least one of copper and nickel, and the glass-free conductive paste containing no glass. This composition is applied to cover a portion of a surface of a ceramic body. Then the ceramic body to which the glass-free conductive paste has been applied is subjected to heat treatment at a temperature of about 600° C., higher than or equal to a temperature about 400° C. higher than the curing temperature of the thermosetting resin. By the heat treatment, the thermosetting resin is subjected to thermal decomposition or combustion and thus little of the thermosetting resin remains, and the conductive metal powder is sintered to form a unified sintered metal body.

A multilayer electronic component includes a body including a dielectric layer and internal electrodes stacked in a first direction with the dielectric layer interposed therebetween and external electrodes including a first electrode layer connected to the internal electrodes and including Ni, and a second electrode layer disposed on the first electrode layer and including an Ni—Cu alloy. A Cu content of the second electrode layer is 70 mol to 90 mol compared to 100 mol of the total content of Ni and Cu of the second electrode layer.

A multilayer electronic component includes a body including a dielectric layer and internal electrodes stacked in a first direction with the dielectric layer interposed therebetween and external electrodes including a first electrode layer connected to the internal electrodes and including Ni, and a second electrode layer disposed on the first electrode layer and including an Ni—Cu alloy. A Cu content of the second electrode layer is 70 mol to 90 mol compared to 100 mol of the total content of Ni and Cu of the second electrode layer.

A ceramic electronic component includes: a body including dielectric layers and internal electrodes; and external electrodes disposed on the body and connected to the internal electrodes, in which the dielectric layers include a plurality of dielectric crystal grains, an average number of dielectric crystal grains per unit thickness (1 μm) of the dielectric layers is 6 or more, and td is 2.0 μm or less, td being an average thickness of at least one of the dielectric layers.

A multilayer electronic component includes: a body including a plurality of dielectric layers and internal electrodes disposed to face each other with each of the plurality of dielectric layers interposed therebetween; and external electrodes connected to the internal electrodes and disposed on outer surfaces of the body, wherein each of the plurality of dielectric layers includes a BaTiO.sub.3-based base material main component and an accessory component including dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), a content of terbium (Tb) is 0.2 mol or more and less than 1.0 mol based on 100 mol of the base material main component, and the dielectric layer includes a plurality of dielectric crystal grains having a particle size of 60 nm or more and 250 nm or less at a point (D50) at which a cumulative volume is 50% in a cumulative particle size distribution according to a particle size distribution system.

A ceramic electronic component includes: a body including dielectric layers and internal electrodes; and external electrodes disposed on the body and connected to the internal electrodes, in which the dielectric layers include a plurality of dielectric crystal grains, an average number of dielectric crystal grains per unit thickness (1 μm) of the dielectric layers is 8 or more, and td is 0.5 μm or less, td being an average thickness of at least one of the dielectric layers.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a multilayer body including dielectric layers laminated on each other, inner electrode layers laminated on the dielectric layers, first and second main surfaces, first and second end surfaces, and first and second lateral surfaces, first and second external electrodes on the first and second end surfaces, an inner layer portion in which the inner electrode layers are opposed to each other, outer layer portions on first and second main surface sides and first and second lateral surface sides. Voids are provided in the outer layer portions on the first and second lateral surface sides. A ratio of a total area of the voids relative to an area of the outer layer portion on the first or second lateral surface side in a cross section of the multilayer body is greater than or equal to about 0.02% and less than or equal to about 0.2%.

A multi-layer ceramic electronic component includes a ceramic body and an external electrode. The ceramic body includes a first main surface and a second main surface that face in a first direction, internal electrodes laminated in the first direction, and a penetrating hole that has a diameter decreasing from the first main surface toward the second main surface and includes a tapered surface, the internal electrodes being exposed on the tapered surface. The external electrode includes a first conductive layer disposed along the tapered surface, and a second conductive layer disposed along the first main surface and connected to the first conductive layer.

A multi-layer ceramic electronic component includes a ceramic body and an external electrode. The ceramic body includes a first main surface and a second main surface that face in a first direction, internal electrodes laminated in the first direction, and a penetrating hole that has a diameter decreasing from the first main surface toward the second main surface and includes a tapered surface, the internal electrodes being exposed on the tapered surface. The external electrode includes a first conductive layer disposed along the tapered surface, and a second conductive layer disposed along the first main surface and connected to the first conductive layer.

A multilayer electronic device may include a plurality of dielectric layers stacked in a Z-direction that is perpendicular to an X-Y plane. The device may include a first conductive layer overlying one of the plurality of dielectric layers. The multilayer electronic device may include a second conductive layer overlying another of the plurality of dielectric layers and spaced apart from the first conductive layer in the Z-direction. The second conductive layer may overlap the first conductive layer in the X-Y plane at an overlapping area to form a capacitor. The first conductive layer may have a pair of parallel edges at a boundary of the overlapping area and an offset edge within the overlapping area that is parallel with the pair of parallel edges. An offset distance between the offset edge and at least one of the pair of parallel edges may be less than about 500 microns.