Full space qualification awarded to harsh-environment MLCCs

AVX has announced that, Following several years of extensive testing, AVX has announced its space-level X7R base metal electrode (BME) MLCCs have achieved the European Space Association's (ESA's) Qualified Parts List (QPL) status under the criteria of the European Space Components Coordination's (ESCC) 3009/041 specification, making them the first X7R BME MLCCs fully-qualified for use in European and American space applications. Exhibiting capacitance voltage (CV) capabilities superior to those of traditional precious metal electrode (PME) MLCCs, AVXs space-level BME MLCCs provide the extremely high reliability performance required by the space industry while delivering higher capacitance values in significantly smaller cases sizes, enabling revolutionary reductions of board space, weight, and component count, which directly translate into launch cost savings. Featuring Sn/Pb plated Flexiterm terminations, the space-level X7R BME MLCCs also provide considerably enhanced resistance to mechanical stress by allowing for more board flexure than standard terminations, especially in large case sizes. They are seen as ideal for I/O filtering and bulk storage in the switch mode power supplies (SMPS) in space and satellite communications, radar and defence systems. "After years of extensive testing per the ESA’s 3009 specification, AVX became the first and only supplier to achieve ESA QPL status for X7R BME MLCCs, which enable revolutionary reductions in PCB size, weight, and component count due to their high CV capabilities," said Michael Conway, product marketing manager, AVX. “Achieving full space qualification prevents our customers from having to buy additional LAT testing every time they utilize these parts in space applications, and opens them to both the European and American markets since the US uses the ESA’s QPL as a quality indicator."