New medical series tantalum capacitors for non-critical medical devices

AVX Corporation has released the new T4Z Medical Series HRC4000 medical-grade tantalum capacitors. Created to replace commercial capacitors in the hold-up, filtering, and charging circuits of non-critical medical devices requiring strict change control and high-reliability. These include implantable, non-life-sustaining devices, such as heart monitors, insulin pumps, neurostimulators, and temporary cardiac monitors; external, life-sustaining devices, such as automated external defibrillators and external heart pump controllers; and external non-life-sustaining devices, including patient monitoring and diagnostic equipment. The new capacitors are based on a MIL-PRF-55365 product line with more than 25 years of proven high-reliability performance in the medical industry. To ensure consistent, high-reliability performance, the series is manufactured at the company's ISO-13485-certified plant in Biddeford, Maine, using strict manufacturing control, statistical screening, and testing procedures compliant with FDA regulations for medical devices. "Subjecting our T4Z Medical Series HRC4000 medical-grade tantalum capacitors to such rigorous design and manufacturing process controls, statistical screening, and testing procedures allows us to consistently achieve higher-reliability components with significantly lower DC leakage levels than commercial solid tantalum capacitors, and to better satisfy the exacting demands of even non-critical medical applications," said Lizzie Geismar, product marketing manager for AVX's high-reliability tantalum division.