Automotive conductive polymer chip capacitors doubles reliability

KYOCERA AVX offers expanded and improved AEC-Q200-qualified TCQ Series Automotive Conductive Polymer Chip Capacitors, field-proven in multiple demanding automotive, industrial, and telecommunications applications with tight board space and tough operating environments since 2015. The series provides two new case sizes for a total of five, several capacitance and voltage (C/V) ratings, 36 part numbers for a total of 52, and twice the reliability specified in AEC-Q200.

These capacitors offer a compact and robust form factor ideal for space-constrained, harsh-environment applications incorporating body electronics, cabin controls, comfort and infotainment systems, aftermarket automotive electronics, DC-DC converters, and coupling/decoupling. They are provided with conductive polymer electrodes that allow a benign failure mode under recommended use conditions. The series has been expanded to include 36 part numbers covering an extended range of capacitance and voltage ratings. It provides 52 unique part numbers with C/V ratings spanning 10–470μF and 2.5–50V with a ±20% capacitance tolerance, which is a notable improvement over the past range of 10–220μF (±20%) and 4–35V with only 16 unique part numbers.

The capacitors display low DC leakage (0.1CV), high capacitance, and stable electrical performance in operating temperatures from -55C to +125C. They also meet AEC-Q200 humidity bias testing requirements (Ur at 85C and 85% RH for 1,000 hours) due to materials, design, and manufacturing innovations the company used to overcome the inherent limitations of polymer materials and offer outstanding endurance and stability for 2,000 hours at 125C, exceeding the already-stringent AEC-Q200 operational life requirement by 100%.

This series of capacitors display basic reliability of 1% per 1,000 hours at 85C and rated voltage with 60% confidence. They are also 3x reflow compatible at 260C, lead-free compatible, and RoHS compliant, and are fabricated in an IATF 16949 certified facility.