Lifespan of 230C hermetic tantalum capacitors extended to 10,000 hours

AVX has extended the lifespan of its THH 230C Hermetic Series high-temperature SMD tantalum capacitors to 10,000 hours at 200C and 50% derating. Available in two large case sizes (9/CTC-21D and I) that provide high capacitance values spanning 22µF to 100µF, THH Series capacitors feature the highest temperature ratings of any SMD tantalum capacitor series available on the market: -55C to +230C for 9/CTC-21D case components and -55C to +215C for I case components, says the company. Encased in hermetically sealed ceramic packages, THH Series capacitors also exhibit superior stability when exposed to high temperatures, high humidity, and ambient atmosphere, and are impervious to the capacitance drop common to high temperature operation, enabling significant size reductions, lower component counts, and reliability improvements in extremely high temperature applications, such as down-hole oil drilling. THH Series capacitors also exhibit exceptional volumetric efficiency and low leakage current (0.01CV), and are manufactured and screened using AVX's patented and highly-effective Q-Process, which ensures the removal of any components that may experience parametric shifts through customer processing or display instability through life testing. As such, THH Series capacitors exhibit an impressive FIT rate of 1% per 1,000 hours at 85C and rated voltage with 0.1O/V series impedance. "THH 230C Hermetic Series capacitors provide engineers with higher capacitance in a smaller package than many comparable components, which significantly extends the design flexibility of circuits in a wide variety of very high temperature applications," said Allen Mayar, product marketing manager at AVX. “"Moreover, in addition to the newly extended 10,000-hour lifespan available on selected codes at 200C and 50% derating, which extends the range of high-reliability applications for which the series is ideal, these capacitors provide engineers with outstanding mechanical robustness and performance — proven with extensive mechanical shock, vibration, operating life, and moisture resistance testing that far surpasses what comparable capacitors moulded in standard epoxy resin can provide."” THH 230C Hermetic Series capacitors rated for 47µF/63V and 100µF/35V are currently available in 9/CTC-21D cases with gold-plated undertab, gold plated L-shape J-lead, and nickel-plated J-flex J-lead terminations. However, 6.8µF/35V, 10µF/35V, 22µF/16V, and 47µF/16V capacitors in I cases are available as engineering samples, and 25 more codes in both case sizes are actively under development. Once complete, the series will be available in capacitance values spanning 3.3µF to 330µF, voltages spanning 16V to 63V, and six case size/termination combinations ranging in size from 11.9mm x 6.0mm x 3.0mm to 12.10mm x 12.5mm x 6.5mm, says the company.