Automotive and commercial capacitors extend choices

Automotive and commercial grades are available, and a special ordering code allows customers to obtain automotive-grade parts for their projects without submitting a drawing or specification.

John Bultitude, Vice President and Technical Fellow, Ceramic Technology at KEMET said: “Electrostatic discharge events can cause undesirable operation in a circuit and possibly damage components. ESD damage due to human contact is a major cause of electronic equipment failures during circuit assembly or in the field, and is estimated to reduce assembly-line productivity by up to 33%.”

Bultitude added: “KEMET’s ESD-rated MLCCs enhance protection for the lifetime of the equipment, and their small dimensions simplify design and minimise impact on overall form factor.”

X7R capacitance values from 1-220nF (C0G from 1-15nF) give designers flexibility to achieve their desired frequency response in RF filtering, decoupling, tuning or resonant circuits.

The lower capacitance values are suitable for providing ESD protection at external ports such as USB 3.0, DisplayPort, HDMI, serial ports, audio jacks, and SIMs or memory cards. They also provide ESD protection for automotive modules such as infotainment equipment, airbag controllers or keyless entry systems, as well as industrial computers, video cameras, and test and measurement equipment.

These capacitors have up to 25kV ESD-withstanding capabilities and pass AEC-Q200-002 HBM (Human-Body Model) tests. Automotive-qualified devices additionally meet all other requirements of AEC-Q200. Voltage ratings from 25-200V are available, and devices can be specified with tolerance of 5%, 10% or 20% on capacitance value.

C0G capacitors are also available with 1% or 2% tolerance. The operating-temperature range of -55 to 125°C ensures high reliability in a wide range of applications and optional flexible terminations enhance robustness in designs exposed to extreme mechanical stresses or temperature cycling.