Fail-Safe SMD Capacitors for Automotive Applications

AVX Corporation has extended the voltage ratings for its OxiCap® NOS Low ESR Series niobium-oxide (NbO) capacitors to 8V at 85 degrees C and 7V at 105 degrees C to satisfy automotive applications requiring fail-safe SMD electrolytic capacitors, and has also added standard ESR ratings to satisfy more cost-conscious applications. Delivering exceptional reliability for SMD capacitors — 0.2% per 1,000 hours at rated voltage and 85 degrees C, with just 20% recommended derating under load — the series is suited for in-cabin automotive applications, such as: steering angle sensors, voltage regulators, dc-dc converters, electrochromic mirror systems, and automotive infotainment systems.

Based on niobium-oxide technology, which can withstand nearly 300x the energy required to combust the base material for traditional electrolytic capacitors, AVX’s OxiCap NOS Series capacitors provide a non-burning, non-smoking, essentially ignition-free SMD electrolytic under the typical power loads of in-cabin automotive applications. The series also exhibits self-healing properties, which allow the capacitors to continue operating under breakdown conditions with little effect on capacitance and only a slight increase in dc leakage, rather than short-circuiting like most SMD capacitor technologies.

“The new voltage ratings for the OxiCap NOS Series capacitors extend their scope of useful applications to include those in which safety and reliability are paramount,” said Mitch Weaver, member of the technical staff at AVX. “The number of automotive applications that are deemed critical are continually increasing due to the adoption of ISO 26262 and IEC 61508 functional safety standards for electronic automotive systems, so we designed this latest extension of our OxiCap NOS Series to provide our customers with trusted, fail-safe components that will prove critical to their next-generation designs.”

Lead-free compatible and RoHS compliant, AVX’s newly extended OxiCap NOS Series capacitors are available in nine case sizes spanning EIA codes 1206 to 2917, and are rated for voltages spanning 1.8- to 8-V, capacitance values spanning 10µF to 1,000µF (with a ±20% tolerance), and operating temperatures spanning -55 to +125 degrees C. DCL for the series is 0.02CV. OxiCap NOS Series capacitors are shipped on 7” or 13” reels, and lead time for the series is currently 8–10 weeks.