KEMET Corporation (KEMET) has introduced new 35V rated surface mount polymer tantalum chip capacitor, T521 Series. The company’s initial offering of this new series includes the low profile V Case Size with a capacitance rating of 15uF and maximum ESR ratings of 125 milliohms. Future releases will include higher case heights with target capacitance values of 22uF and 33uF and also smaller footprints targeting application voltages of 6.8uF and less.
Since their introduction in the 1990’s, polymer tantalum capacitors have become a popular choice for capacitance solutions in portable consumer electronics due to their low Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), high reliability, volumetric efficiency, low profile design and benign failure mode. To date, these devices have been most commonly used in applications at or below 14V and are limited to voltage applications that cannot exceed 20V of continuous duty. These voltage restrictions are driven by limitations in the materials of construction and manufacturing processes that have until today prevented the industry from achieving higher voltage ratings.
“This first-to-market technology represents a significant breakthrough for design engineers,” stated Philip Lessner, KEMET’s chief technology officer and chief scientist. “Military, aerospace, power supplies and industrial applications will all benefit from this advancement. Our first significant order has been placed by a U.S. military contractor to enhance the performance of a key communications network system that is used by multiple defense agencies around the world,” continued Lessner.
By overcoming these voltage limitations through advances in materials and manufacturing processes, KEMET has constructed and qualified the first polymer tantalum capacitors suitable for applications of up to 25V of continuous duty. In addition, these devices have demonstrated surge voltage handling capabilities in excess of 46V. This increase in voltage rating now provides designers working with higher voltage applications, such as 20V to 24V power input rails, with the option of incorporating polymer tantalum technology into new designs as opposed to settling for capacitance technologies that do not offer similar performance advantages.