New Industry Products

Capacitors for Fast-Switching GaN and SiC Designs

March 26, 2017 by Power Pulse1595211359

TDK Corporation has extended the CeraLink™ series with two low-profile (LP) types designed for a rated voltage of 900Vdc. The SMT capacitors have a capacitance of 0.25µF and feature different terminations: the B58031I9254M062 type with L-style termination has dimensions of 10.84mm x 7.85mm x 4mm, while the B58031U9254M062 with J-style termination measures only 7.14mm x 7.85mm x 4mm.

The new capacitors supplement the existing LP portfolio which until now has included types for 500Vdc (1µF) and 700Vdc (0.5µF). Thanks to their compact design and high permissible continuous operating temperature of 150 degrees C, all LP types can, for example, also be embedded directly into IGBT modules as snubber capacitors.

Another advantage of the CeraLink capacitors based on PLZT (lead lanthanum zirconate titanate) ceramic is their extremely low ESR and ESL values. For example, these components feature a minimum ESR value of 12mΩ and an ESL value of just 2.5nH. These capacitors are therefore well-suited to converter topologies based on fast-switching semiconductors such as GaN or SiC. Voltage overshoots and ringing when switching are significantly lower than with conventional capacitor technologies. Another feature of the LP types is the high steady state rms ripple current of up to 11.4A.

If higher capacitances are required, CeraLink types with solder pin terminations are available. They are designed for rated voltages of 500Vdc or 700Vdc and offer capacitances of 20µF (500Vdc) or 10µF (700Vdc). The ESL value of these types is typically around 3.5nH.