Technical Articles / Whitepapers

Temperature Stability Assessment of GaN Power Amplifiers with Matching Tantalum Capacitors Written By: Ron Demcko | Mitch Weaver | Daniel West Abstract: Wide band gap GaN and SiC devices are expected to experience high levels of growth in applications ranging from power conversion to RF transistors and MMICs. End users recognize the advantages of GaN technology as an ability to operate under higher currents and voltages. RF GaN market is expected to grow at 22.9 % CAGR over 2017-2023, boosted by implementation of 5G networks. [1] During the past years, the wide band semiconductors have reported achievement of >1000 V BDV that opens new challenges for high power industrial applications such as electric traction systems in trams, trolley buses or

Voltage Derating Rules for Solid Tantalum and Niobium Capacitors Written By: Tomáš Zedníček | John Gill Abstract: For many years, whenever people have asked tantalum capacitor manufacturers for general recommendations on using their product, the consensus was “a minimum of 50% voltage derating should be applied”. This rule of thumb has since become the most prevalent design guideline for tantalum technology. This paper revisits this statement and explains, given an understanding of the application, why this is not necessarily the case. With the recent introduction of niobium and niobium oxide capacitor technologies, the derating discussion has been extended to these capacitor families also.

Ultrathin Discrete Capacitors for Emerging Embedded Technology Written By: Radim Uher | Tomas Zednicek Abstract: Passive components can represent as much as 70% of PCB footprint in today’s electronic systems. The development of a suitable technology whereby integrated passive components are embedded into the PCB body has been one of the key trends in downsizing for more than a decade. Latest achievements have allowed the implementation of this ‘embedding technology’ into pre-production and even mass production. The next step requires the involvement of the complete supply chain, including traditional passive component manufacturers. This paper will present the state of the art in the development of ultrathin discrete capacitor technology and discuss the challenges of overcoming mechanical, electrical and thermo-mechanical issues

Thermal Management of Surface Mounted Tantalum Capacitors Written By: Ian Salisbury Abstract: This paper covers thermal management of surface mounted tantalum capacitors, and explores the thermal characteristics and how these are modified by the thermal interconnection substrate. The paper explores the different methods of mounting to reduce the thermal resistance to the PCB, also the affect of the design of connection pads on the PCB to reduce the thermal stress on the capacitor.

Thermal and Electrical Breakdown Versus Reliability of Ta2O5 under Both – Bipolar Biasing Conditions Written By: P. Vašina | T. Zedníček | Z. Sita | J. Sikula | J. Pavelka Abstract: Our investigation of breakdown is mainly oriented to find a basic parameters describing the phenomena as well as its impact on reliability and quality of the final product that is “GOOD” tantalum capacitor. Basically, breakdown can be produced by a number of successive processes: thermal breakdown because of increasing conductance by Joule heating, avalanche and field emission break, an electromechanical collapse due to the attractive forces between electrodes electrochemical deterioration, dendrite formation and so on. Breakdown causes destruction in the insulator and across the electrodes mainly by melting and