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[Nov 2006]
Capacitor Minimises Short-Circuit Failure in Ultra Safe Design
AVX Corporation, a leading manufacturer of advanced passive components and connectors, has designed a ceramic capacitor that is said to virtually eliminate the risk of short-circuit failure. Terminated with the award-winning FLEXITERM™ technology introduced last year, FLEXISAFE™ capacitors absorb shock and prevent internal cracking due to board flexure and temperature cycling damage. FLEXISAFE components are also structured with a cascade electrode design (effectively two capacitors in series within one MLCC) that protects the ceramic capacitor from low insulation resistance failure that may result from thermal stress, repetitive strike ESD and placement damage.
FLEXISAFE capacitors are claimed to be probably the safest MLCC in the world. By combining the company's innovative FLEXITERM technology with the cascade design traditionally used in its high voltage ceramic capacitors, the internal design of these capacitors minimises all major causes of short circuit failure.
FLEXISAFE capacitors are ideal for new designs in military/aerospace COTS+ applications, automotive terminal 30 applications to replace two capacitors in series requirement, automotive terminal 15 applications to replace two capacitors requirement and other safety-critical designs.
FLEXITERM technology is a soft termination system that allows almost three times the amount of board flexure when compared to standard termination systems. Further enhancing the capabilities of a standard MLCC, FLEXITERM was developed as an additional flexible termination layer added to the component to ensure electrical integrity is maintained when external forces are applied. This new high conductivity termination material was added to the AVX standard X7R dielectric ceramic capacitor to prevent failures in the system due to cracking.
The flexible termination comprises a conductive polymer used in conjunction with Base Metal Electrode (BME) technology. The conductive polymer coats a copper termination that is then plated with nickel and tin. Resistance to mechanical failure can be attributed to FLEXITERM’s ability to reduce the transfer of mechanical stress exerted on the component body.
AVX offers a minimum flexure of up to 5mm, without internal cracks, versus the industry standard of 2mm. In addition, FLEXITERM can achieve 3000 temperature cycles as compared to the industry standard of just 1000 cycles.
FLEXITERM is designed so that the capacitors will not crack under most extreme environmental conditions. In the rare scenario where a board may flex beyond 5mm, FLEXITERM is designed so if there were to be a failure, it would be in the termination area and in open mode. This is especially important on power lines where failure could involve fire damage due to short circuit. With FLEXITERM, the open circuit occurs in a small area of the termination meaning little or no degradation to the capacitor’s performance.
www.avx.com
ENDS