FOUNTAIN INN, S.C. (June 22, 2015) — AVX Corporation, a leading manufacturer of passive components and interconnect solutions, has announced that, after several years of extensive testing, its space-level X7R base metal electrode (BME) MLCCs have achieved the European Space Association’s (ESA’s) Qualified Parts List (QPL) status under the criteria of the European Space Components Coordination’s (ESCC’s) 3009/041 specification, making them the first X7R BME MLCCs fully qualified for use in European and American space applications. Exhibiting capacitance voltage (CV) capabilities superior to those of traditional precious metal electrode (PME) MLCCs, AVXs space-level BME MLCCs provide the extremely high reliability performance required by the space industry while delivering higher capacitance values in significantly smaller cases sizes, enabling revolutionary reductions of board space, weight, and component count, which directly translate into launch cost savings.
Featuring Sn/Pb plated Flexiterm® terminations, AVX’s space-level X7R BME MLCCs also provide considerably enhanced resistance to mechanical stress by allowing for more board flexure than standard terminations, especially in large case sizes. Currently available in 0603 – 1812 sizes (with 0402 and 2220 parts in the midst of QPL evaluation), the series is rated for 16 – 100V and 2.2nF to 8.2μF, and is ideal for I/O filtering and bulk storage in the switch mode power supplies (SMPS) in space and satellite communications, military defense and weapons, and radar systems.
“This April, after years of extensive testing per the ESA’s 3009 specification, AVX became the first and only supplier to achieve ESA QPL status for X7R BME MLCCs, which enable revolutionary reductions in PCB size, weight, and component count due to their high CV capabilities,” said Michael Conway, product marketing manager at AVX. “Achieving full space qualification prevents our customers from having to buy additional LAT testing every time they utilize these parts in space applications, and opens them to both the European and American markets since the US uses the ESA’s QPL as a quality indicator.”
AVX’s space-level X7R BME MLCCs are currently available in three capacitance tolerances (±5%, ±10%, and ±20%) and with three ESCC lot acceptance testing (LAT) levels. Lead time for the series is 14 weeks, and pricing is available upon request.
For more information about AVX’s space-level X7R BME MLCCs, please click here to access the AVX European Space Agency and CECC Ceramic Capacitor Products catalog. For more information about the ESCC’s 3009/041 specification, please click here.
For more information about AVX, please visit www.avx.com, call 864-967-2150, or write to One AVX Boulevard, Fountain Inn, S.C. 29644.
