50V tantalum polymer capacitor touts ultra-low ESR

Greenville, S.C. – In its pursuit to meet the continued need for capacitors that provide high capacitance with low equivalent series resistance (ESR), AVX Corp. recently expanded its TCJ SMD polymer tantalum capacitor series to include the industry's first 1µF/50V and 10µF/35V device.

The TCJ Series 50V range extension meets the demands of DC/DC converter applications that supply circuits in LCD TVs, base stations, rectifiers, switching hubs, routers, line filters, and LED power drivers in PC monitors and new LED-technology TVs. Low ESR in capacitors has been a dominant trend in the passives sector.  The additional supply current needs in high-speed microprocessor-based systems, as well as extended battery life in portables require capacitors with lower ESR.

"Up to this point, there have been no capacitors available in the market providing such low ESR at this voltage level and compact size of 3.5 mm x 2.8 mm, said Daniel Lane, marketing manager at the Fountain Inn, S.C.–based company. "The key advantage of the polymer device is the lower ESR, down to 300 milliohms, and its resistance to ignition failure mode that is considered to be an issue for conventional tantalum technology."

The tantalum capacitors with conductive polymers are more stable with ambient temperature and applied voltage when compared to multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). Polymer tantalum capacitors offer several additional intrinsic benefits, such as withstanding high ripple currents and providing low ESR values.

"The dielectric of tantalum capacitors is much more stable as compared to MLCC dielectric. The capacitance of tantalum parts is stable with DC/AC voltage and temperature unlike the MLCC capacitors," Lane said, referring to a chart in a DC/DC converter capacitor benchmark study. Please see the following technical paper: http://www.avx.com/docs/techinfo/DC-DCConverterCapBenchmark.pdf

Another key feature of the TCJ Series polymer capacitors is how they can achieve continuous operation with just 20% voltage derating. This allows the capacitors to operate on a higher application voltage as compared to the conventional tantalum capacitors with an industry-standard derating rule of 50% in which the capacitor is recommended to operate at half of the rated voltage in low-circuit resistance applications, he added.

The TCJ Series polymer tantalum capacitors are RoHS-compliant and contain no halogens, which top equipment manufacturers are anxious to eliminate. In addition, the conductive polymer cathode is inherently low oxygen bearing and thus helps provide a reduced ignition failure mode.

Key highlights:

• Conductive polymer electrode reduces ignition failure mode
• Lower ESR
• 3x reflow 260°C compatible
• Capacitance range: 1.0-220μF / 2.5-50V
• 13 case sizes available
• Capacitance tolerance: }20%
  
• Leakage current DCL: 0.1CV

Pricing: For 10,000 pieces of the 1uf, B case is $0.620 each.

Availability: Now from authorized distributors, including Digi-Key. Lead time is 8 weeks.

Datasheet: Click here.