First automotive-qualified MLV satisfies robust automotive demands

KYOCERA AVX has launched the industry’s first automotive-qualified MLVs equipped with the company’s patented FLEXITERM soft termination technology, which has been widely used on several automotive-qualified MLCCs for over 15 years. Created to meet automotive industry demands for more robust component solutions, the new VCAS Series MLVs with FLEXITERM technology are produced to reliably withstand severe flexing, vibration, and temperature cycling, allowing up to 5mm of mechanical board flexure over 3,000 temperature cycles extending up to 150C with zero board flex failures, including internal cracks and depanelisation, and no notable changes to electrical characteristics. Automotive-qualified MLVs with industry-standard terminations, generally support only 2mm of board flexure over 1,000 temperature cycles extending up to 125C.

The new series soft termination technology offers increased reliability and excellent mechanical and thermomechanical performance compared with competing solutions in automotive under-hood applications such as engine sensors with a direct connection to the battery rail, and in aerospace, automotive audio circuits, industrial, and downhole drilling applications, and IoT applications, incorporating smart watches, other wearables, and cleaning robots. Also, these new MLVs display high current and energy handling capabilities, super-fast response times, and multiple ESD strike capabilities, and deliver high-reliability bidirectional overvoltage protection. They also offer EMI/RFI attenuation in their off state, which can lower or even eradicate the necessity for further EMC capacitors; display lower insertion loss, reduce leakage current, and unrivalled reliability compared to competing diode solutions; and are qualified to the AEC-Q200 and VW 80808 specifications.

Currently offered in four surface-mount cases sizes from 0603 to 1210, the new MLVs are rated for five working voltages ranging from 5.6-30VDC, five clamping voltages extending from 18-67V, four energy transients spanning 0.1-1.5J, and operating temperatures as low as -55C and as high as +150C. They are also RoHS-compliant.

“We are very proud to introduce the new AEC-Q200-qualified VCAS Series multilayer varistors with FLEXITERM technology to the market. This new product introduction will provide our automotive OEM customers with a compact, multifunctional component solution optimised for outstanding mechanical and thermomechanical robustness proven to reliably outperform competing MLV and diode solutions in harsh-environment signal and power line applications subject to vibration, variable temperatures, and flexure stress,” said John Gallipeau, senior field applications engineer, KYOCERA AVX. “As the demand for more electronic content in today’s vehicles continues to grow, so does the demand for extremely rugged and reliable electronic components qualified for use in these challenging applications. As such, the new VCAS Series MLVs are just the first to feature our patented and field proven FLEXITERM soft termination technology. Soon, all of our TransGuard and TransGuard Automotive MLVs will also be available with FLEXITERM technology.”