Capacitors for Wearables, Medical Devices and DC Filtering

During this week's IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC), AVX Corporation announced several new product groups including: an extension of its proven F98 Series resin-molded, undertab termination style tantalum chip capacitors — known for providing miniature, low profile, and high CV solutions that reduce footprint, audio noise, and cost — with the addition of the industry's smallest, highest CV 0603 tantalum capacitor rated at 100µF/6.3V; the FFLI family of high-voltage power film capacitors especially designed for dc filtering applications, such as the dc filtering of high-frequency ripple currents and decoupling dc links in ac-dc and dc-ac motor drive inverters; and the TAZ Series HRC6000 solid tantalum medical-grade capacitors.

The new F98 Series 0603 capacitor delivers twice the capacitance of competitors’ 0603 tantalum capacitors, and halves the footprint of the 0805 component that had previously been the industry’s smallest tantalum capacitor with equivalent ratings. Free from the dc capacitance/voltage dependency that MLCCs experience and featuring SMD facedown, undertab terminations, which enable high volumetric efficiency, low ESL, and high PCB assembly density, F98 Series capacitors are especially well suited for use in the power line circuits of a wide range of mobile and wearable electronics, including: smart phones, wireless modules, hearing aids, fitness trackers, and smartwatches.

“Our high CV F98 Series offers a broad selection of miniature, facedown capacitors with ultralow profiles and the highest available capacitance to provide ideal solutions for mobile and wearable technologies with stringent size, price, and performance requirements,” said Allen Mayar, product marketing manager, AVX.

AVX’s F98 Series high CV, resin-molded chip capacitors are currently available in three case sizes (0603, 0805, and 0402) with ultralow maximum profiles of 0.90 and 0.60mm (0.80mm ±0.10mm and 0.55 ±0.05mm), rated voltages spanning 4V to 25V, and capacitance values spanning 1.0μF to 220μF with a ±20% tolerance at 120Hz. Lead-free compatible and RoHS-compliant per the RoHS2 directive 2011/65/EU, F98 Series capacitors are rated at 85°C and designed for use in operating temperatures spanning -55 to +125 degrees C. Lead time for the series is 8–10 weeks.

Providing a unique, dry, no-free-oil alternative to oil-filled high-voltage power film capacitors, the FFLI Series delivers intrinsically safe, high-reliability, and long-lifetime performance in ac-dc power converters, renewable energy inverters, rolling stock, and oil drilling applications. These capacitors exhibit low DCL, ESR, and ESL, high current handing capabilities, and excellent high-frequency performance and capacitance retention with frequency.

Rated for 1.5kV to 3kV, the new FFLI Series capacitors are comprised of a unique combination of dry, metallized polypropylene film and a no-free-oil solution sealed in a cylindrical aluminum case filled with self-extinguishing polyurethane resin. This composition equips the FFLI Series with controlled self-healing technology, which prevents potential explosions resulting from avalanche effect, enables a benign failure mode consisting exclusively of capacitance losses, and ensures safe, reliable performance over lifetimes of up to 100,000 hours.

“Thanks to its unique, dry composition and controlled self-healing capabilities, which prevent both avalanche effect and the subsequent potential for explosions typically associated with oil-filled high-voltage power film capacitors, the FFLI Series provides design engineers with a wide variety of exceedingly safe and reliable solutions for a broad range of dc filtering applications, and especially those that prohibit the use of oil-impregnated capacitors, including solar, wind, and hydro inverters,” said John Gallipeau, power film technical marketing manager at AVX.

Rated for lifetimes of up to 100,000 hours at rated voltage, 70 degrees C hot spot temperature, and ΔC/C <2%, standard FFLI Series designs are currently available in seven voltage ratings — 1.5kV, 1.75kV, 2kV, 2.25kV, 2.5kV, 2.75kV, and 3kV — and with capacitance values spanning 58µF to 1,110µF ±10% tolerance. However, custom sizes, shapes, and performance specifications are both possible and welcome.

The series’ cylindrical aluminum cases span 85mm to 116mm (3.35” to 4.57”) in diameter and 155mm to 340mm (6.10” to 13.39”) in height, and feature a self-extinguishing plastic cover, an M12 x 16 bolt to fix the capacitor in place, and either M6/10 female connections or M8/20 male connections. Designed to withstand operating temperatures ranging from -40 to +85 degrees C, the RoHS-compliant series is also qualified to the following standards: IEC 61071, IEC 61881, IEC 60068-2, IEC 61373, and UL 94. Lead-time for the series is 13 – 16 weeks, and pricing is available upon request.

And, AVX released the TAZ Series HRC6000 series of next-generation medical-grade, solid tantalum capacitors. Delivering lower dc leakage (DCL) values than any competitive offering — down to 0.0025CV, or 25% of typical industry limits — and requiring significantly less voltage de-rating than the standard 50% recommendation for solid tantalum capacitors — as low as 20% for filtering applications, and as low as 0% for pacing, hold-up, and charging application — the series is suited for use in a variety of medical implantable and life support devices.

TAZ Series HRC6000 capacitors are manufactured using AVX’s patented Q-Process, which was developed to ensure the production of the highest reliability tantalum capacitors possible by replacing a portion of the Weibull Reliability Assessment as the industry standard due to its tendency to burn-in potentially unstable units. In use since 2013, the Q-Process employs enhanced embedded screening to effectively remove any component that may experience parametric shifts as a result of processing or display instability through life testing, providing customers with stable and normalized DCL distribution and unsurpassed reliability.

“Our new TAZ Series HRC6000 medical-grade, solid tantalum capacitors deliver exceptionally low DCL and extremely high performance in a variety of case sizes, capacitance values, capacitance tolerances, voltage ratings, and termination finishes to provide ideal filtering, pacing, hold-up, and charging solutions for a wide range of medical implantable and life-support applications,” said Brian Brunette, high-reliability tantalum applications engineer, AVX. “Manufactured and tested using our patented Q-Process, which utilizes a product-level designation system based on a simulated production routine performed on a sample population, in combination with a calculation that is based on both the performance of the sample and end customers’ application conditions, the new TAZ Series HRC6000 capacitors also allow for remarkably relaxed de-rating recommendations.”

TAZ Series HRC6000 medical-grade, solid tantalum capacitors are currently available in E-cases (Metric Code: 5025) with three rated voltages (6V, 10V, and 15V), three capacitance tolerances (±5%, ±10%, and ±20%), and with capacitance values spanning 10μF to 33μF. Additional series introductions scheduled for later this year will include A-cases (Metric Code: 2512) with the same voltage ratings and capacitance values spanning 0.68μF to 1.5μF.

Rated operating temperatures for the series range from -55 to +125 degrees C, and the capacitors can be supplied with one of four termination finishes: solder-plated, solder-fused, gold-plated, and 100% tin, the latter two of which are lead-free compatible and RoHS compliant. Lead-time for the series is eight weeks, and components can be shipped in bulk, on 7” tape and reel, or in waffle packaging.