Paumanok Publications, Inc.
Electronic Industries Alliance
July/August 2003
An affiliate publication of the
A sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance
The Only Magazine Dedicated Exclusively To The Worldwide Passive Electronic Components Industry
Film Capacitors
Market Outlook
Vishay’s Zandman Speaks Out
ECA to Develop e-Auction
Guidelines
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Volume 5, No. 4
July/August 2003
The Only Magazine Dedicated Exclusively To The Worldwide Passive Electronic Components Industry
FEATURE STORIES
6
For Vishay Electro-Films, Opportunity Rises from Ashes
When fire struck in a plating area of Vishay Electro-Films’ Warwick, R.I., facility, it had every making of a disaster.
7
DC Film Capacitors: Outlook
There is no question that DC Film capacitors are facing difficult market conditions on multiple fronts.
12
AC Film Capacitors: Market Outlook
Like most segments of the passive component industry, AC film capacitor shipments suffered
during last year ’s global economic downturn.
21
New Metallized Polypropylene Film Capacitors for Resonant Applications in the Lighting Industry
The benefits of electronic ballast for lighting are well documented, and include high efficiency, energy saving and
longer lifetime.
24
Radial Lead Film Capacitors Testing/Sorting Machine
Capacitors with polymer film as dielectrics provide high temperature stability, low DF and
very high IR.
28
Two New Nondestructive Tools for Capacitor Evaluation
Acoustic micro imaging has been employed for more than 20 years as a nondestructive means
to visualize the internal structure of ceramic chip capacitors.
32
Power Capacitor Chips for Automotive Low Power Converters
The demand for miniaturization, modularization and enhanced performance continues to challenge
engineers developing converter components.
DEPARTMENTS
4
Letter from the Publisher
Littelfuse Strikes Gold With Teccor Acquisition.
5
Letter from ECA
ECA to Develop Guidelines for More Balanced e-Auctions.
18
Featured Technical Paper
Thin Film High Density Interconnect (HDI) Design Guidelines.
23
Question & Answer
Capsco Acquisition: Q&A with Paul Andrews, Jr., TTI.
27
Interview
Dr. Zandman Speaks Out.
31
People Watch
The latest in new hires, promotions and who’s moving where.
34
Newsmakers
New product offerings and important developments in the passive components industry.
PASSIVECOMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
3
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
Littelfuse Strikes Gold With Teccor
Acquisition
L i ttelfuse would appear to be number
one globally.)
Because of this, Teccor seems to be
ongratulations are in order for well positioned to capture a larger
Littelfuse’s purchase of Teccor portion of the telecom subscriber line
Electronics, Inc. from Invensys interface card (SLIC) market as that
plc. Littelfuse noted that the purchase sector emerges from its severe economprice was $44 million in cash, plus a ic downturn (probably after 2004–
future payment of $5 million if the which justifies the additional $5 milcompany reaches revenues of $107 lion payment should Teccor reach $107
million for calendar year 2005. When I million in revenues in 2005). Compofirst heard the news I thought a zero nents consumed in SLIC cards are
had been left off the payment price. among the most profitable segments of
Rumors circulated throughout the cir- the circuit protection industry.
cuit protection components business R e venues are strong for thyristors,
during the week of July 13th that PTC thermistors and line feed resistors, all of which must
Invensys had been offered a
adhere to the difficult
half-billion U.S. dollars for
Te lcordia and ITU specifiTeccor back in 2000 (which
cations. Moreover, in the
they obviously turned
greater realm of circuit
down). Boy, how things
protection components,
have changed in the compowhich include both overnents industry in the past
voltage and overcurrent
31 months.
protection devices, the
Those of you who read
thyristor represents the
this magazine and know
most advanced technology.
me also know that I wear
This means the product
two hats– one as the publine is technically protectlisher of Passive Compoed (not just legally pronents Industry magazine, Dennis M. Zogbi
tected) and therefore very
and the other as president
of Paumanok Publications, Inc., the difficult to emulate for companies
industrial market research firm. I with multilayered, thick film or
spend much of my time working on pressed pill technology platforms (in
helping companies be acquired, or other words, most of the circuit protechelping companies buy other compa- tion business).
Having said that, Teccor has also
nies in the passive component segment. Therefore, it is from experience traditionally been an innovative comthat I say the Teccor acquisition by pany– one that developed an excellent
position in semiconductors for indusLittelfuse was a coup.
I have always viewed Teccor as one trial electronic applications but was
of the prime acquisition candidates in also smart enough to develop plastic
the circuit protection sector of the molded circuit protection modules for
i ndustry, primarily because of its rack mount protection in central office
patented thyristor technology and its applications (a vertically integrated
global market position in secondary sales model).
Usually I do not get this excited
protection of telecommunications subscriber line interface cards (SLIC). about an acquisition (especially one
Littelfuse’s announcement was not that I am not involved in), but in this
specific about Teccor’s position in instance I make an exception because
global thyristor sales, but with it supports the theme of the greater
L i t t e l f u s e ’s previous acquisition of compartmentalized solution in the
S e m itron (which also makes thyris- high-tech supply chain that I have
tors, as well as gas discharge tubes) been emphasizing in presentations
Littelfuse must certainly have the and speeches for some time now. The
global market leadership in thyristor compartmentalized solution of the
sales for 2003. (ST Microelectronics is future suggests an efficient high-tech
extremely strong in Europe, but
Continued on page 16
C
4
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
PUBLISHER
DENNIS M. ZOGBI
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
ERIC R. GREGG
EDITOR
JOHN D. AVANT
ART DIRECTOR
AMY DEMSKO
MARKETING
CAROLYN HEROLD
RESEARCH EDITOR
NAUREEN SYED
ADVISORY BOARD
Glyndwr Smith
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.
Ian Clelland
ITW Paktron
Pat Wastal
Avnet
Jim Wilson
MRA Laboratories
Michael O’Neill
Heraeus Inc.
Bob Gourdeau
Vishay BCcomponents
Dan Persico
Passives Strategist
Editorial and Advertising Office
130 Preston Executive Drive, Suite 101
Cary, North Carolina 27513
(919) 468-0384 (919) 468-0386 Fax
www.paumanokgroup.com
The Electronic Components – Assemblies – Materials –
Association (ECA) represents the electronics industry
sector comprised of manufacturers and suppliers of passive and active electronic components, component arrays
and assemblies, and commercial and industrial electronic component materials and supplies. ECA, a sector of the
Electronic Industries Alliance, provides companies with a
dynamic link into a network of programs and activities
offering business and technical information; market
research, trends and analysis; access to industry and government leaders; standards development; technical and
educational training; and more.
The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) is a federation of
associations and sectors operating in the most competitive and innovative industry in existence. Comprised of
over 2,100 members, EIArepresents 80% of the $550 billion U.S. electronics industry. EIA member and sector
associations represent telecommunications, consumer
electronics, components, government electronics, semiconductor standards, as well as other vital areas of the
U.S. electronics industry. EIA connects the industries
that define the digital age.
ECA members receive a 15% advertising discount for
Passive Component Industry. For membership information, contact ECA at (703) 907-7070 or www.ec-central.org;
contact EIAat (703) 907-7500 or www.eia.org.
LETTER FROM ECA
ECA to Develop Guidelines for More
Balanced e-Auctions
F
or most electronic component
suppliers, e-Auctions are like one
of those bad-news/good-news
jokes. If you are the incumbent for the
account, the bad news is you could lose
that business. The good news? You’ll
retain the account at a much lower buying price.
At ECA’s recent summer meeting in
Hilton Head Island, S.C., suppliers explored the issues surrounding e-Auctions
and outlined action that can be taken to
forge a better balance between buyer and
seller.
e-Auctions are sometimes called reverse auctions because the buyer solicits the bids rather than the seller. But
they also are the reverse of a traditional auction in other ways that tip the
balance firmly toward the buyer:
• The bidder list is kept confidential,
which does not allow a supplier to
develop a strategy for dealing with
known competitors. It also sets up
the possibility of an unethical situation where price can be driven
down by a third party or even the
buyer.
• Bidders are sometimes not qualified in advance, so some might not
have the ability to provide the
products; they are present for the
sole purpose of driving down price.
• The winning bid does not necessarily receive the award, nor is it
known what share the bidder will
receive if its bid is the lowest or if it
is second or third.
• Terms and conditions of the e-Auction can be fluid and open to revision, never finalized, or negotiated
by the buyer after the event.
• Bidding is not necessarily firm,
and competitive bids have been retracted in some cases.
• The auction format is not open to
participants; bidders are dependent on the buyer to ensure a level
playing field.
e-Auction Ethics: An Oxymoron?
Participants in the ECA summer
meeting cited these problems in the eAuctions in which they have engaged. A
presentation by David Hargraves, senior commodity manager of electronics
for FreeMarkets, set the ethical high
ground for how e-Auctions should be
conducted. But the suppliers in attendance said they had not participated in
e-Auctions that adhered to the fair-play
standards followed by FreeMarkets.
According to Hargraves, FreeMarkets provides standardized processes
that provide market transparency to
both buyers and suppliers. Specific
and defined points of negotiation are
provided upfront to all suppliers, and
buyers evaluate and factor-in nonprice elements.
When managed correctly, Hargraves
says e-Auctions can provide opportunities for suppliers that include gaining
exposure to new business opportunities,
expanding relationships with current
customers across business units, getting immediate feedback on pricing
relative to the market, and reducing
bid-cycle time.
Hargraves cautions suppliers to be
aware in advance of how the e-Auction
will be structured and executed, to realize that not all opportunities are equal,
and to be proactive – know your customer and understand the rules of engagement upfront. Ask questions. Don’t
assume anything.
Developing Fair Practices
After presentations by Hargraves
and John Denslinger, senior vice president of sales for Murata and ECAchair,
it was decided that ECAshould work to
create guidelines that suppliers can use
as the basis for determining and negotiating fair e-Auction practices.
ECA will recommend that suppliers
use the guidelines to reach an agreement with the buyer on how the e-Auc-
tion will be conducted before it starts.
The association will also encourage
third-party e-Auction providers to
adopt software features and policies
that are fair to both buyers and sellers.
Issues under consideration for the
e-Auction guidelines include:
• Treating pricing information as
proprietary.
• Prohibiting a third party from using information from one e-Auction to influence pricing on a subsequent one.
• Identifying all participants in the
bidding process.
• Clearly stating terms and conditions up front, and not making
real-time changes during the
process.
• Extending special rights to incumbent suppliers.
• Considering the e-Auction as an
implied contract and holding the
buyer to the rules of engagement.
• Defining lots in a fair manner that
permits monolithic pricing.
• Clearly stating upfront the criteria
for selecting the winner.
• Providing information on the results of the auction within a preagreed timeframe.
In light of Oxley/Sarbanes and other
initiatives, it is important that the electronics component industry raises the
professional and ethical bar of e-Auctions. ECA will be working to create a
document that can be used to encourage
an open, less deceptive, and more rewarding e-Auction process. We want
your help in the process. Suppliers,
buyers and e-Auction software and service providers can share their views on
an e-Auction forum posted on the ECA
web site at: www.ec-central.org/e-Auction.cfm.
—Bob Willis is president of ECA,
the electronic components sector of
the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA).
He can be reached at rwillis@ecaus.org.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
5
FEATURE
For Vishay Electro-Films,
Opportunity Rises from Ashes
W
hen fire struck in a plating
area of Vishay Electro-Films’
Warwick, R.I., facility, it had
every making of a disaster: The
February 13, 2002 blaze damaged the
building, machinery, equipment and
inventory. Production came to a halt,
temporarily closing the operation.
A damage assessment showed that
the original space housing the plating
area – roughly half of the working space
in the facility – could no longer be occupied due to chemical and soot damage.
had been notified of the event and the impact on Vishay Electro-Films’ business.
At the Warwick facility, contaminated
areas were restricted and sealed off.
Areas not affected by the fire were evaluated and the building was rearranged
to restructure manufacturing. All silicon
wafers would continue to be manufactured in the converted Warwick facility.
Ceramic wafers were moved to
Malvern, packaged products to Niagara
Falls, and European orders to Nice.
“Our Electro-Films customers have
Less than a year after the fire, the Warwick facility was modernized and back in business.
Inventory and equipment in the original building was tested and found to be
contaminated.
Rather than close the operation permanently, Vishay decided to rebuild. A
day after the fire, engineering teams
were sent to Vishay Thin Film facilities
in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Malvern, Penn.,
and Nice, France, to investigate their
capacity for handling Electro-Films’
orders and production.
On the sales side, open and backlog
orders were evaluated for each product
produced in Warwick, and sorted by
country, state and region. Within three
days of the fire, all worldwide customers
6
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
remained loyal and patient during a difficult period,” says Dr. Felix Zandman,
Vishay’s chairman and CEO. “The fire
was an unfortunate incident, but the final result will be a new factory with new
equipment and production processes.”
Getting Back to Pre-Fire Levels
Less than six months after the fire,
Vishay Electro-Films completed its
emergency plan and reached pre-fire
capacity for its two principal silicon
products – chip resistors and resistor
networks.
Ceramic production for Vishay Electro-Films’ high-density interconnects
JULY/AUGUST 2003
reached pre-fire capacity approximately
one year after the fire. By April of this
year, back-contact resistors were qualified and had reached pre-fire capacity,
and three new clean rooms were up and
running in Warwick. Lead times for filling orders had been cut in half.
In May, Vishay announced that capacity for packaged standard and customfilm resistors exceeded pre-fire levels.
The rapid recovery and added capacity
was possible because of Vishay’s ability
to transfer some 1,400 items from
Warwick to Niagara Falls and Nice.
As a result, no order was refused and
all were delivered at required performance levels. Orders spanned military,
aerospace, industrial and commercial
markets.
“The synergies within our operations
enabled us to transfer some 800 customer orders for packaged thin film
resistor products after the fire, without
any non-recurring or tooling charges,”
said Glyndwr Smith, the company’s
senior vice president for marketing intelligence. “In most cases, the same P.O.
and pricing were used to make the
transfer transparent to the customer.”
Technology Development
Continues
Throughout the rebuilding process,
Vishay Electro-Films continued to develop specialized designs for thin film
components and networks on ceramic
and silicon, including capacitors, inductors and microwave components. Late
last year, the company’s HDIs were the
subject of a technical paper at CARTS
Europe. The paper (an excerpt of which
appears on page 18 of this issue of Passive Component Industry) provides a
road map of the design process for singleor double-sided thin film, high-density,
multilayer substrates.
In April, Vishay Electro-Films
Continued on page 30
FEATURE
DC Film Capacitors: Outlook
T
here is no question that DC Film capacitors
are facing difficult market conditions
on multiple fronts. Changing end-use
market segments no longer require the use of
certain types of DC film capacitors and alternative capacitor products are encroaching
into market segments traditionally dominated
by DC film capacitors.
DC film capacitors have been continually under competitive pressure from alternative capacitor dielectrics, with
emphasis upon multilayered ceramic chip capacitors (MLCC).
Technical innovations, especially in NPO-type ceramic chip
capacitors manufactured with base metal, have made substantial inroads into the global DC film capacitor market.
This is especially true in the general purpose PET film capacitor market, and more recently in the interference suppression film capacitor market. It should be noted, however, that
some film capacitor manufacturers perceive that most of the displacement of
PET film and interference suppression
capacitors has already taken place, and
those end-users who wish to switch to
ceramic capacitors in favor of DC film
capacitors have already done so.
Others feel that MLCC manufacturers will continue to encroach upon DC
film capacitors in many additional ap-
up to release OEM equipment on all new automobiles that will automatically check tire
pressure. There will be a separate circuit for
each wheel that will require one or two
pulse discharge capacitors (film) per
wheel. The circuit is a simple “tank” circuit.
Other new film applications in automotive subassemblies include electronic converters for fuel cell applications. These are high voltage
6kV power film capacitor applications and are applicable for
the new 42/14VDC power supply in the next generation automobiles at 300kHz.
According to primary suppliers there is interest in film capacitors in the United States and Western Europe for the
14/42VDC power system for automobiles.
In general, automotive applications continue to hold
plications. Regardless, the DC film capacitor manufacturers continue to pursue the production of surface mount
film chip capacitors in an effort to compete against any encroaching threats
from MLCC products.
Let’s look at some of the current and
developing trends within the major categories of the film market.
Automotive Electronic Subassemblies Market
Automotive companies are gearing
PASSIVECOMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
7
DC Film Capacitors
promise for the film capacitor industry, especially in high frequency applications greater than 300kHz.
Consumer Video Market
The next big application for film capacitors continues to be
HDTV television sets and LCD monitors. For HDTV television sets, the film capacitor requirements are similar to traditional cathode tube television
sets. Therefore, they require AC
& pulse film capacitors for the
degaussing circuit and interference suppression capacitors for
across-the-line filtering.
LCD monitors employ more
surface mount film capacitors between 15µF and 68µF, and also
employ an AC pulse capacitor for
the degaussing circuit.
Film Chip Capacitor Market
Demand for film chip capac itors in PPS and Pen film is
8
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY JULY/AUGUST 2003
still growing.
These film chip capacitors will never replace ceramic chip
capacitors, but will compete in perhaps 15% to 20% of the circuit designs that require true stability at high capacitance.
Ceramic capacitors in case sizes that exceed 1206 are viewed
by customers as having the potential to crack during flex tests
because of their large size. Film chip capacitors seem to win
more markets in applications requiring a large capacitor and
high stability.
In many high frequency applications greater than 200kHz
it is more economical to use a film chip capacitor than a comparable ceramic chip, because more ceramic chips per circuit
are required to satisfy the frequency requirements of the circuit.
DSL Modem Market
Film chip capacitors are continuing to find applications in
special modems that require high reliability circuits, such as
DSL modems. However, in 2001 and 2002 these markets were
affected by the downturn in the general telecom arena.
Lighting Ballast Market
Lighting still appears to be a strong market for film chip
DC Film Capacitors
capacitors as well. Companies are now focusing on supplying the DC film chip for
the new LED driver ballasts.
5mm PET Film Capacitor Market
The 5mm PET film capacitor marketplace, which represents a significant
quantity of units sold for film capacitors, continues to be encroached upon by ceramic capacitors. Over time this market will likely diminish substantially, thus
causing the film capacitor market to become a niche market segment. Based upon
conversations with the
Japanese MLCC manufacturers, it is quite
apparent that their
focus is to displace tantalum chip
capacitors and surface
mount
aluminum
electrolytic capacitors
with their high capacitance NPO dielectric MLCC.
Major DC Film Capacitor Customers
DC Film Capacitor
Customer
Percentage
of Market
Value Estimate
2001 Units
Contract
Primary
Products
Consuming DC Film
Primary
Capacitors
Sony Corporation
9.82%
Monitors, Audio
Systems, Handyphones
Philips
6.75%
Monitors, Ballasts,
Audio Systems
Matsushita
5.88%
Monitors, Ballasts,
Power Supplies,
Audio Systems
Samsung
4.56%
Monitors
Tyco (Lucent)
3.51%
Power Supplies
Invensys
3.42%
Power Supplies
Astec (Emerson)
2.63%
Power Supplies
Pioneer
2.37%
Audio Systems
Delta Products
2.19%
Power Supplies
Robert Bosch
2.02%
Audio (Car), Auto
Other
56.85%
All
Source: Paumanok Estimates (In Millions of USD)
Notes: Philips Includes Advance Transformer
PASSIVECOMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
9
DC Film Capacitors
Handheld Market
New markets for evolving information appliances such as
personal digital assistants should continue to open additional opportunities
for film chip capacitors. Film chips can
be used in some of the circuits that
require high reliability.
Power Electronics Market
The power electronics market continues to be a polypropylene film capacitor
business and should stay this way for
some time, even though some ceramic
capacitor companies and the aluminum
electrolytic capacitor companies are
attempting to compete in this arena.
The Road To Market Recovery In DC Film Capacitors
While the past couple of years have been less than optimal
for the film capacitor market, many in the industry expect the
situation to improve in the second half of 2004 and become quite
robust in 2005 and into the first quarter of 2006. In 2007, however, we expect the market to decline again in accordance with
the five-year cycle typically affecting passive components.
Major DC Film
Capacitor Manufacturers
2001
Merchant Sales
Matsushita EiC
17%
Arcotronics Italia SpA
15%
Nissei Electric Company
13%
EPCOS
11%
BCcomponents*
7%
WIMA
5%
Shinyei-Kaisha
5%
Okaya Electric
4%
Evox-Rifa
3%
Hua Jung Components
3%
Pilkor Electronics
3%
Faratronics
3%
Other
Total
11%
100%
Market Estimates: Paumanok Publications
*Note: BCcomponents now part of Vishay
Metal Foil Resistors
Web site: www.alpha-amer.com • E-mail: passive@alpha-amer.com
Contact Sales at (763) 258-8550
10
PASSIVE COMPONENTINDUSTRY JULY/AUGUST 2003
FEATURE
AC Film Capacitors: Market
Outlook
L
ike most segments of the passive component industry,
AC film capacitor shipments suffered during last year ’s
global economic downturn. There are signs of life this
year, however, and consumption is expected to grow at a modest, but reasonable, rate for the next few years. Most
observers anticipate the largest growth rates will occur in the
power film capacitor segment of the business, while ballast
capacitors are expected to suffer the greatest rate of decline.
Worldwide, the current market is about $1.5 billion USD.
Here’s a look at some of the more important segments.
High Voltage PFC Capacitors
High voltage PFC capacitors are used in utility grade power transmission and distribution applications, where they are
applied directly to the power grid to increase the efficiency by
which power is transmitted and distributed.
AC film capacitors used for power T&D applications are generally employed in circuits from
3kV to 745kV.
Manufacturers of AC film capacitors for
power T&D applications are primarily divisions of much larger power equipment manufacturers. They supply capacitors as a line
item for larger turnkey operations that include
reactors, cable, transformers, arresters and capacitors. Major manufacturers include ABB,
General Electric, Schneider Electric, Matsushita Electric and Cooper Power Systems,
among others. Because of the vertical nature
of the capacitor supply to this segment of the
industry, this market is considered closed to
outside vendors.
This segment represents the largest portion
of the AC film capacitor market, and ironically
one that continued to grow worldwide
throughout 2001 and 2002 because of increased
demand for power generation and efficient distribution. Growth continues in emerging high
tech countries in Asia (especially China), and
in South America and Eastern Europe.
Industrial Power Factor Correction
C apacitors
This market is considered an extension of
the high voltage power factor correction capacitor market worldwide. Capacitors consumed
in these applications are generally rack or wall
mounted systems that contain large can
polypropylene capacitors in series. The mar-
12
ket driver for this segment of the industry is that some electric utilities offer incentives to manufacturers who demonstrate efficient power consumption.
Industrial PFC capacitors are sold by multiple vendors
worldwide, including, but not limited to the same manufacturers who produce high voltage power transmission and
distribution capacitors. This segment of the AC film capacitor market was hit hard by the global economic downturn in
2001 and again in 2002 as capital spending for industrial
capacity expansion declined substantially, resulting in a substantial decline in global requirements for industrial power
factor correction.
Motor Run Capacitors
Motor run capacitors are consumed in a portion of the
Continued on page 14
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AC Film Capacitors
Continued from page 12
electric motors produced worldwide. The types of motors that
consume motor run capacitors are called split-capacitor
motors, and the application for the capacitor is power factor
correction of the motor. This market accounts for the largest
volume of individual AC film capacitors sold, and is therefore
considered to be of prime importance to the suppliers of
polypropylene materials.
Lighting Ballast Capacitors (Magnetic & HID)
AC film capacitors have been historically consumed in two
separate markets in the lighting ballast industry: PFC magnetic ballasts and high intensity discharge (HID) ballasts. AC
capacitors consumed in magnetic ballasts are a rapidly declining business because magnetic ballasts are considered to
be inferior to electronic ballasts, which consume no AC film
capacitors for power factor correction. In the United States,
government regulations are actually mandating the displacement of magnetic ballasts with more efficient lighting ballasts. HID ballasts that require power factor correction are
generally consumed in outside lighting applications. The AC
capacitors consumed in HID ballasts are seven times more
expensive per unit than AC capacitors consumed for similar
applications in magnetic ballasts. The HID ballasts are considered to be a safe haven for AC lighting capacitors because
their displacement will take longer than traditional magnetic
ballasts.
Microwave Oven Capacitors
Some analysts include microwave oven capacitors in the
power film capacitor segment; however, many suppliers view
the microwave oven capacitor market as a market by itself.
The capacitor application in a microwave oven is pulse discharge with extremely high voltage (between 1,000V and
3,000V).
Microwave oven capacitor markets are dominated by companies in the Far East, as that is where the majority of these
devices are manufactured. Galanz of Mainland China, Sharp
of Japan, Samsung of Korea, Matsushita of Japan, and LG
Electronics of Korea are the dominant microwave oven man ufacturers. The average annual growth rate has been
b etween 3% and 4% per year, and this trend is expected to
14
PASSIVE COMPONENTINDUSTRY JULY/AUGUST 2003
continue over the next five years, although it is also apparent that production is moving steadily to Mainland
China.
Power Film Capacitors
This is one of the growth businesses for AC film capacitors
over the next five years. It is generally considered a basket
category for a variety of AC film capacitor products that are
finding rapid growth opportunities, primarily in Europe. Power film capacitors generally are used for one of three applications: snubber, commutation and pulse discharge (which is
why microwave oven capacitors are sometimes included in
this segment).
The most important aspect of this market to understand is
that the applications are unique and not considered to be power
factor correction. Capacitor applications are primarily for actuated power. Outside of microwave oven pulse discharge
applications, the major market here is for variable speed
drives, which are consumed in wind generation equipment
and in electric trains– two high growth markets worldwide.
The chart on page 15 shows the major worldwide manufacturers of AC film capacitors by type, and their estimated
global revenues derived from sales of AC film capacitors.
AC Film Capacitors
Competitive Environment
AC Cap
Cap Rankings
Rankings
AC
by
Revenue
by Revenue
Competitor
Competitor
ABB Capacitor
General Electric
Nissin Electric
Parallax (Magnatek)
Shizuki Electric
Schneider (Alstom)
ISKRA Kondenzatori
Arcotronics
EPCOS**
Nichicon (Film Cap)
Cooper Power
Matsushita
Wuxi Power Group
Zuzhou Power Group
Frako
Electronicon
Commonwealth-Sprague
Vishay-ESTA
Seika Electric
Franke
Samwha
Myron Zuckr
ICAR
Han Sung Electronics
Electronic Concepts
Nokian
Han Sung Heavy
American Radionic
York Capacitor
Ducati
Icotron Industries
Dearborn
Cambridge Capacitor
Konek (Bianchi)
Ronken
Tibrelawa Electronics
Fuxin Dongxin
Alpes
Comar
Cornell-Dubilier
AFCAP
Amber Capacitor
CIA General de Electronico
Facon
Inductotherm-HEC
General Atomics (Maxwell)
CSI Technologies
RTR
ChicagoCondenser**
Del/RFI
Condenser Products
Spectrum (Potter)
Evox-Rifa (AC Cans Only)
ZEZ
Plastic Capacitors
B&R/Reliable
Motor Cap**
ByCap
1
2
3
3
4
5
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6
6
7
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9
9
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Location
Location
Belgium/Thailand
USA/Mexico
Japan
Germany
Japan
France/Mexico
Slovenia
Italy
Germany
Japan
USA
Japan
China
China
Germany
Germany
USA
Portugal
Taiwan
Germany
Germany
USA
Italy/UK
Korea
USA
Finland
USA
USA
Italy
Italy
Brazil
USA
UK
Spain
USA
India
China
France
Italy
USA
South Africa
Pakistan
Mexico
Italy
USA
USA
USA
Spain
USA
USA
USA
USA
Finland
Czech
USA
USA
USA
USA
Let our Amitron unit’s
world-class LTCC service
get you a prototype ASAP:
Send for our new, free
design guide!
Need a multilayer network for a high-density, highfrequency application? Looking at a complex design
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To learn more about Amitron LTCC — call the number
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®
* EPCOS Includes AEG and Montena Acquisitions
** Both Chicago Condenser and Motor Cap are part of Capacitor Industries
Source: Paumanok Publications, Inc.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
15
800-411-6596 > www.anaren.com
In Europe, call 44-2392-232392
ISO 9001 certified
Visa/MasterCard accepted
Letter From the Publisher
Continued from page 4
supply chain (or supply circle as Glyn Smith from Vishay
describes it). It will be exemplified by component manufacturers with broad product portfolios filling the complete needs
of an OEM or CEM customer within a channel. In passive
components, companies that exemplify this trend already include Vishay, EPCOS and Matsushita (on page 27 of this issue
of PCIM there is an interview with Dr. Felix Zandman, Vishay
chairman, in which we discuss this compartmentalized solution in the broader passives segment). I am firmly convinced
that the efficient supply chain of the future, especially for
high volume applications in cell phones, computers and consumer electronics, will rely more heavily on manufacturers
with broad product solutions.
The antithesis of this will be the manufacturer of application-specific and value-added component solutions, such as
those used in medical, defense, aerospace, downhole pump,
telecom infrastructure, and auto under-the-hood. There are no
perfect examples of this model yet, but certainly companies
such as Eurofarad and AVX Olean come to mind as candidates.
But is there a middle ground between the two? Yes, in
passive components there is– and that is in the area of electronic circuit protection, where the combination of higher
average unit prices, higher operating profits and relatively
high volume combine to make the best of both worlds.
With the Teccor acquisition, Littelfuse demonstrates that it
is possible to create a compartmentalized solution in overvoltage and overcurrent protection– through organic growth in
electronic fuses, and acquired technologies in varistors
(Harris), gas tubes (Semitron) and now thyristors (Teccor).
Littelfuse is well on its way to developing a broad circuit protection product offering that is entirely manufactured by the
company. But still, nothing is perfect, and Littelfuse still
rounds out its portfolio with buy/sell arrangements in polymer
PTC and line feed resistors; but the trend at the company suggests that those lines are earmarked for acquisition as well.
One might argue that the electronic distribution model
currently serves the broad line solution the best, but the
future suggests manufacturers will supply the same solution–
without the mark-up. Looks like the future is now.
Not just the car.
EPCOS components inside.
HigPherformance
Documented
Performance:
•QS-9000
•FMEA
•PPAP
• APQP
•AEC-Q200
•Bluebook
Qualification
• ISO/TS-16949
16
PASSIVE COMPONENTINDUSTRY JULY/AUGUST 2003
EPCOS components perform reliably,
even under extreme conditions.
For a proven automotive track record
with documented performance,
count on EPCOS electronic
components:
Capacitors
Varistors
Thermistors/Sensors
Gas Discharge Tubes
Inductors
SAW Filters
•
•
•
•
•
•
For immediate assistance,
log on to www.usa.epcos.com
EPCOS, Inc., Iselin, NJ 08830 U.S.A.
800-888-7729
EPCOS – just everywhere…
FEATURED TECHNICAL PAPER
Thin Film High Density Interconnect
(HDI) Design Guidelines
William Cuviello and Derek Coulton
Vishay Electro-Films Inc.
Substrate Selection
Base Conductor
Layout
Introduction
The design of single or double-sided thin
film high density multilayer substrates depends on a wide range of rules. This article
is intended to provide a road map of the design process, with focus on the selection of
materials, films and extensive wide range
of options. The purpose is to educate the
circuit user on thin film high density interconnects (HDI) and the benefits of design
performance. These benefits are achieved
through enhanced control of impedance signal routing, size, noise and response conditioning using thin film design concepts.
Base Resistor
Layout
Cutouts and
Special Shapes
#Layers?
Selection Road Map
The design process begins with the engineer reviewing all the options available to
achieve a balanced effective layout, and selecting the best fit in terms of substrate
choices, metallization schemes and interconnecting technology. Generally, you build
from the substrate up or out so the first
choice would be the substrate. The first
metal layer is designed by making all the
major routing connections. Next, if there
are resistors they must be placed giving
considerations to power required and associated cell size. All resistors should be
placed on the substrate surface either front
side or back. If front-to-back routing seems
appropriate, then through-hole considerations must be addressed as either solidfilled or plated-through. Next, considerations for placement of other types of
components must be addressed. Capacitors,
air crossover and Lange couples must be integrated into the circuit using additional
layer routings as required. Figure 1 gives a
pictorial view of the selection process.
Single Layer
Two-Sided
Front-to-Back
Select vias
–Plated
–Solid Filled
Add Capacitors/
Air Bridges/
Lange Couplers
Design
Backside
Layout
Select Metal
Stack
Select Metal
Stack
18
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
Select
Dielectric
Design
Multilevel
Interconnection
/Routing
Substrate Characterization
One of the most critical choices in any
circuit is the base material on which the
circuit is built. As in all designs, the application drives the base requirements. The
Multilayer
Complete Cad
File
Figure 1: Selection road map.
JULY/AUGUST 2003
Technical Paper
hole conductor or just a hole for pin
alignments may be used.
Applications
Material
Uses
Benefits
Quartz (SiO2)
Microwave/Millimeter-wave low
power/low shunt capacitance
Good for high density patterns
/Low loss tangent/low CTE-but
more costly
Alumina (Al203)
Std hybrid or medium power
microwave
Best cost effective choice
Aluminum Nitride (AlN) High power Microwave
Ideal CTE match to silicon deviceshigh thermal conductivity
Silicon
DC circuit-medium/high power
Best choice for high density fine
line interconnections
Beryllia (BeO)
High power DC/RF/Microwave
Highest Thermal conductivity
Base Resistor Layout
Resistor design is dependent on several factors such as resistor material,
power, TCR, tolerance and application.
All these factors should be known prior to layout design. Applications such
as microwave or simple DC can affect
the choice of the layout. Microwave applications are the most restrictive in
design format and available resistance
values ranges. Fortunately, most microwave requirements require lower
value resistors.
Microwave Resistor Design
Figure 2: Application table.
application table in Figure 2 summarizes many of these choices. Among the primary considerations is the power dissipation
required for the circuit. For DC circuits this is a simple choice,
but for applications requiring higher frequencies the dielectric constant becomes more paramount when frequency response becomes a major consideration.
Base Conductor Layout
The second most important parameter in any circuit design
is the conductor routing, where current density and conductor
impedance can play an important part in the circuit performance. Conductor lines must be designed to withstand the
current required. The resistance of that line, especially on signal paths, must be low enough not to create circuit performance issues (see Figure 3). During this phase of the design
Ideal resistor design for microwave
applications evolves from a stripline
format where resistor layout is simply a
rectangle without
any cuts that could
cause reflection and
affect VSWR characteristics. In practice,
unless resistor tolerance is loose, most
manufacturers require trimming to Figure 4: Stripline format for remaximize yields. To sistor layout.
minimize the effects
of trimming, these resistors should be edge-trimmed around a
centerline to maintain frequency response (see Figure 4).
Current inspection criteria allow up to 50% of the resistor
to be removed. Using high temperature stabilization procedures can produce very stabile resistors, minimizing drift over
time or temperature.
Cutouts and Special
Shapes
For many applications it is necessary to have a substrate
fit into a particular cavity or allow cutouts for component
placement of die planer with the substrate surface. By using
Co2 cutting, almost any shape can be achieved, from round
discs to a complex U-shaped structure with multiple hole
placements (see Figure 5). This technology allows us to do our
own in-hole drill for plated through-holes, filled vias, edge-
Figure 3: Conductor pattern
with special routing for externally mounting components.
layout, consideration may also be given for placement of any
through-holes. Except for filled vias, the size of the holes required depends on the application. Either a plated through-
Figure 5: Co2 cutting example.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
19
Technical Paper
wrap metallization and two-sided substrate patterning
Layers
In general the size required by the application will determine the number of layers: single, two-sided or multilayer. Applications that limit size will be the most demanding to lay out
and force the designer to use a two-sided or multilayer solution. Obviously, it is most cost effective to manufacture a single layer whenever possible. At this point, consideration must
be given to conducter routing, vias, resistor cell, added active
devices, and special features such as capacitors, Lange couples
and any associated interconnects. High-density and multilayer design require complexity and a close relationship to end
product performance to assure optimum performance. The use
of AutoCAD systems can streamline design difficulties.
bridge. The same process can be done for a supported air
bridge using polyimide; in this case, the polyimide layer remains in place on the finished part. Bridges supported by
polyimide provide a more rugged structure.
Solder Dam
For many applications the need arises to place components
on the substrate with epoxy, or with solder if tight planerization is needed. This is true particularly in fiber optic submount assemblies. Solder dams can be offered as either polyimide or a lower temperature thermal set plastic.
Backside Layout
Conductor interconnect patterns or ground plane definition can be provided on the bottom surface of the substrate.
Selecting Through-Hole Vias
The choice between plated through-hole vias
and filled vias is a matter of application. The
least expensive choice is the plated throughhole, where only a simple front-to-back electrical path is required.
Filled vias are often the choice when improved thermal conductivity to the backside is
needed. They offer the designer as many heat
channels as the area allows. A filled via also allows the component engineer to place components directly over the via for maximum heat
transfer from the component. Filled vias can be
used to provide additional low thermal conductivity paths to ground plate heat sinks to im- Figure 7: Front and backside patterned array.
proved signal transmission.
When designing through-hole patterns, design a minimum of a 0.005mil ring around each hole to allow for
Front-to-back alignment can be held to 0.002 inches
tolerance build-up caused by hole placement, manufacturing
(0.051mm). The backside metallization can also provide
alignment, diameter tolerance, slight laser entrance hole roundshielding for inter-conductor layers in multilayer designs. The
ing and other factors (see Figure 6).
design shown in Figure 7 combines several feature available
using thin film techniques with the backside pattern options:
metallized through-holes for grounding, large area metal for
low impedance and custom shape. Backside patterning provides a cheaper alternative to a top surface multilayer design.
Multilayer
Figure 6: Custom resistor network
with 19 resistors, 24 plated
through-holes and backside metal
lands.
Air or Polyimide Support Bridges and Lange Couplers
When crossovers are necessary, air bridges can be configured on the conductor pattern. A sacrificial layer is deposited
and patterned before the second layer is put in place. The intermediate layer is then removed leaving the complete air
20
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
For designs that
require more layers
than just the singlelayer front or back
combination can offer, the designer may
stack layers on either side as a multilayer. The use of dielectric
material
such as polyimide or
silicon nitride as an
insulating layer between metal layers
becomes a primary
concern. The most
Multilayer
Area Savings Chart per Layer
# of Layers
Approx. Area
Factor Reduction
1
1.33
2
1.77
3
2.37
4
3.16
Figure 8:
ings.
Multilayer area savContinued on page 30
FEATURE
New Metallized Polypropylene Film
Capacitors for Resonant Applications
in the Lighting Industry
David Olalla, EPCOS Electronics Components, S.A.
Suresh Chandran, EPCOS, Inc.
T
he benefits of electronic ballast for lighting are well documented, and include high efficiency, energy saving and
longer lifetime.
The output stage of the electronic ballast is composed basically of a resonant circuit, which biases the lamp by applying
a sinus waveform at high frequencies. This holds the phosphor continuously energized, and also removes the flicker.
The resonant capacitor of the output stage must withstand
the voltages and currents associated with the preheating of
the electrodes of the lamp, the ignition of the gas inside the
tube, the electrical load when the lamp is ON and the electrical
load with no lamp (broken lamp).
These operation modes could stress the capacitor in several
ways:
• Pre-heating plus ignition voltages, normally above the
rated AC voltage of the resonant film capacitor.
• Normal run could produce a certain self-heating of the
capacitor. Added to the high surrounding temperature,
this could make the capacitor reach very high temperatures.
• Operation without lamp provokes the entire load to be
dissipated in the parasitic resistance of the capacitor and
the inductor.
Taking into account the power, voltages and frequencies involved during these operation cycles, Metallized Polypropylene Film Capacitors (MKP) are found to be perfectly suitable
for these requirements.
All of these requirements and the need for miniaturization
have been considered in the development of a new MKP
concept, resulting in a new design optimized to withstand the
requirements of resonant capacitors.
Operating Temperature of the
Resonant Capacitor
The operating temperature of the capacitor (TC) is the sum of the environment temperature (TREF) and the temperature produced by the dissipated
power in the capacitor itself (∆Τ or selfheating). Therefore, TC= TREF + ∆Τ.
This new MKP development reaches
up to 110ºC. The increased temperature
rating can be explained by the use of
new polypropylene raw material and
manufacturing process improvements. Long endurance
tests performed on these capacitors have demonstrated
the good behavior of the electrical parameters at this high
temperature.
The self-heating, ∆Τ, is a function of the dissipated power
in the capacitor: AC voltage, frequency and the constructive
characteristics of the capacitor (Capacitance and Loss Factor,
D). It means, the higher the voltage or frequency, the higher
the selfheating.
Thermal Shock Conditions
It is very common, especially in US ballast industries, to
fill the ballast case with a tar or any asphalt compound previously heated at temperatures between 150ºC to 160ºC. The
temperature inside the capacitor, for a short time, could be
above the 110ºC maximum operating temperature. The new
MKPdevelopment has incorporated the process and materials
to withstand these conditions.
Permissible AC Voltage/Current for a Given
Frequency: Self-Heating
Once the lamp is switched on, the resonant capacitor works
at normal operating conditions, which involves a continuous
level of AC voltage (or current) in the resonant capacitor at a
given frequency and therefore a certain self-heating (∆Τ) which
shall be below a defined value. This level is fixed according to
our long endurance test results: 10ºC and a certain derating
after 100ºC.
The new design promises an improvement in self-heating
performance; that is, for a given Vrms and frequency combination, ∆Τ is lower. Or, for a given frequency, the allowed Vrms is
higher. This improvement is accompanied by a size reduction
as indicated in Figure 1.
4.7nF / 700VAC
Box (mm)
Loss Factor * 0.001
W
H
L
1KHz
10KHz
100KHz
Standard version
7
12.5
18
0.2
0.2
0.3
New MKP
5
10.5
18
0.2
0.2
0.4
Figure 1: Size and loss factor comparison for 4.7nF / 700VAC series.
PASSIVECOMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
21
Resonant Applications
Loss of Capacitance Caused by Over-Voltages
When the lamp is switched on, short time-high voltage pulses are applied to heat the lamp electrode and finally initiate
the arc that ionizes the gas inside the tube. This over-voltage
in the capacitor, although applied for a short period, may provoke a partial discharge that leads to the oxidation of the metal layer and the subsequent loss of capacitance value.
To quantify the loss of capacitance value with time and voltage level, an AC 50Hz source was used to bias the capacitor at
the same over-voltage level. It was necessary to determine how
long to apply this 50Hz sinus wave to provoke the same loss of
capacitance as in the example of a ballast with 100,000
ON/OFF cycles. 100,000 ON/OFF cycles x 200ms/cycle (which
is the longest duration for ignition time) equals 20,000 seconds
or 5.6 hours. Therefore 5.6 hours should provoke the same loss
of capacitance. Since the frequency of each signal is different,
it was necessary to establish a relation between the actual ignition hours and 50Hz source at high voltage. The results of
the test were plotted in a graph (Figure 2). The continuous line
corresponds to a capacitor mounted on the ballast, and the
time is the sum of the ignition periods. The broken line corre-
Figure 4: Loss of capacitance as a function of time of
Vrms application.
Figure 5: Relationship between hours of ignition and
hours of 50Hz source, for a constant dC/Co.
sponds to a capacitor in a 50Hz source applied continuously.
As shown in Figure 2, 5.6 hours at 31.7Vrms/µm provokes a
real capacitance drift of -2.3%, which is equivalent to 20 hours
of 50Hz sinus at 31.7Vrms/µm.
Figure 3 shows that 5.6 hours at 43.8Vrms/µm provokes a
Figure 2: Loss of capacitance as a function of time of
real capacitance drift of -5.5%, which is equivalent to 45 hours
Vrms application.
of 50Hz sinus at 43.8Vrms/µm.
If the electrical field is now 47.5Vrms/µm, the behavior
shown in Figure 4 could be normally expected to be worse than
Figure 3, due to the higher electrical field. However, the performance of this construction (Figure 4) has been excellent
compared to the construction of Figure 3. The physical dimensions of the capacitor tested are also smaller.
The design of the new MKP capacitor is more robust
against the over-voltages. This is the salient feature of the new
MKP technology, which withstands much better over-voltage
Figure 3: Loss of capacitance as a function of time of
conditions during ignition periods
Vrms application.
The testing method of 50Hz AC source requires longer time,
as the electrical field is higher. For a constant loss of capacitance, we could estabNew MKP
Comparison
Comparison
Comparison
Comparison
lish a relation between the ignition time
1
2
3
4
(hours equivalent at ballast) and the
time of 50Hz source application, as
Capacitance
1.0nF - 33nF
1.0nF - 33nF
1.0nF - 33nF
1.0nF - 47nF
1.0nF - 33nF
shown in Figure 5.
Lead Space
10 - 15mm
10 - 15mm
VAC
500, 600, 700
500, 700
dv/dt
Self-heating
Climatic
Category
15mm
10 - 15mm
15mm
600, 650, 700
600, 650, 700
400, 500, 700
3300 - 9500V/µ s
3300 - 9500V/µ s
3300 - 9500V/µ s
1900 - 8500V/µ s
1300 - 3000V/µ s
+10˚C
+20˚C
+20˚C
+40˚C
+40˚C
55/100/56
55/100/56
55/100/56
55/100/56
55/110/56
Figure 6: Feature comparisons.
22
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY JULY/AUGUST 2003
Conclusions
Comparisons of the salient features of
the new MKP with four product groups
are tabulated in Figure 6.
As can be seen from the test data,
the new metallized polypropylene film
capacitors provide benefits in size and operating characteristics that are well suited for resonant applications in the lighting industry.
QUESTION & ANSWER
Capsco Acquisition: Q&A with
Paul Andrews, Jr., TTI
F
ort Worth, TX: In late June, global electronics distributor TTI announced it had completed the acquisition of Northern California based CAPSCO
Materials Management, a regional distributor specializing
in passive and electromechanical components. Capsco had
seen its revenues fall from $51 million in 2000 to less than
$17 million in 2002. PCI caught up with TTI Chairman
and CEO, Paul Andrews, Jr., to talk
about the purchase.
PCI: Why the Capsco purchase,
why now?
PCI: Do you expect the acquisition to be an anomaly or
does this potentially mark a new strategy for TTI moving
forward?
Andrews: More an anomaly, but TTI will always be interested in ways of improving/strengthening its position in
the market.
PCI: Given the marketplace, do you
feel consolidation is going to be the
route for many of the smaller distributors?
Andrews: Capsco has been a
strong West Coast competitor with
a similar product offering and business model. We believed the combination of TTI and Capsco in that
marketplace would be much
stronger than the two of us individually. With the industry the way it
is now, a significantly stronger
presence on the West Coast for the
both of us seemed to make good
sense.
Andrews: The past few years have
been very difficult financially for
many distributors, and the electronic distribution market is changing as the electronics market is
changing. Distributors that rely on
commodity products will have a difficult time in the future.
PCI: Was this a case of the deal
finding you or was TTI out looking
for deals?
Andrews:
Strong
leadership,
strong reputation for quality
service and highly knowledgeable
people… a very similar product
offering.
Andrews: We aren’t looking for
deals. TTI has only made two
acquisitions in its 32 year history. We learned Capsco
might be available and acted on that information.
PCI: What specifically does the acquisition bring to the
table for TTI?
Andrews: A much stronger presence on the West Coast,
particularly in Northern California. Capsco has a strong
reputation for highly knowledgeable people and quality
service— they are known for their product knowledge and
quality service. That, combined with their slightly different
customer base, will help TTI expand our business base in
the region and help us better serve that market.
PCI: What were the key attributes
of Capsco that really helped seal
the deal for TTI?
PCI: We know you can’t answer this, but we have to ask it
anyway. Terms of the deal were not released but can you
put a purchase price within a range for us, or a multiple of
revenue range?
Andrews: Your comment before the question is correct,
but it was good try anyway.
PCI: Anything else you would like to add about the deal?
Andrews: We believe this acquisition is a 1 + 1= 3 situation, that together the TTI/Capsco combination will be
stronger than the two of us separately.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
23
FEATURE
Radial Lead Film Capacitors
Testing/Sorting Machine
Robert Huang, Captronix Co., Ltd.
C
apacitors with polymer film as dielectrics provide
high temperature stability, low DF and very high IR.
Film capacitors are suitable to working conditions
such as high voltage, high frequency and integrating circuits require high stability. Under these severe conditions,
film capacitors provide stable and reliable characteristics.
Therefore, a film capacitors testing/sorting (T/S) machine
must be able to provide high stability and accuracy of measurement under such adverse conditions.
The failure of a film capacitor usually occurs after being
used for a period of time. Specially designed circuitry on
the T/S machine is the only effective way to reject the less
reliable capacitors on the production line.
Functional Structure
Basically, a T/S machine performs four tests at four stations: voltage withstanding, IR, Cap and DF. Because the A testing/sorting machine for radial lead film capacitors.
polymer takes time to polarize the molecules after applying
measurements and able to sustain high angular acceleration
an electric field, from 30 to 80 stations are usually required
and deceleration in intermittent movement. Comparatively, a
for polarization. The total number of stations on a T/S marunning chain type occupies more floor space, is less rugged
chine will range from 60 to 260.
and is only good for medium speed continuous motion (which
A jig at each station firmly holds the capacitor through varis prone to producing spark at high voltages).
ious operations. The jigs are classified in three types: holding
The intrinsic function of a T/S machine is electrical paralead wire type (Figure 1), holding capacitor body type (Figure 2)
meter measurements. Sorting capability is derived form the
and separate machine type (Figure 3).
computer programming. Most T/S machines have an autoJig requirements include:
matic capacitor loading mechanism in the front and some ma• Accommodation for capacitors of different spacing.
chines also provide lead cutting, marking, counting and pack• Very high insulating resistance.
aging for the goods after sorting. The speed of such a fully
• Ability to withstand 5KV voltage breakdown test.
automatic machine is about 60 to 120 pieces per minute.
• Direct contact for four-wire measurement.
To drive so many jigs on an automatic T/S machine, the
construction of jig assembly falls into two categories, running
Voltage Withstanding Test
chain and turning table. A turning table model is usually
Depending upon the dielectric material and the construction
equipped with 60 to 80 stations and makes intermittent moveof the capacitor, a T/S machine applies 1.5 to 3 times the rated
ment. Turning table construction requires less floor space and
voltage to the capacitor for about 10 seconds, then measures
is mechanically rugged, more stable for accurate electrical
Continued on page 26
Figure 1: Holding lead wire jig.
24
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
Figure 2: Holding capacitor body
jig.
JULY/AUGUST 2003
Figure 3: Separate machine type
jig.
Captronix
Continued from page 24
the leakage current to determine whether the capacitor is
good or not.
IR Test
The IR of a film capacitor lies in the range of 1G to 100G.
The following factors cause deterioration of the IR value:
• Inferior material. If the dielectric polymer film is contaminated with chemical or the film is under too much tensional strain, IR will deteriorate over time.
• Too much self-healing. When voltage is applied to a new
ly wound capacitor self-healing occurs around the pinholes. If the self-healing is too severe, the film might be
carbonized. This degrades IR.
• Production fault. If humidity is too high in the winding
room, too much moisture will be trapped in the capacitor
during the winding. Defective encapsulating material or
a pinhole in the encapsulation will let moisture go into
the capacitor. These also degrade the IR.
Lower IR will shorten the life of
a capacitor. IR is typically measured by applying a measuring
voltage (e.g. 100V) for about 60
seconds, then measuring the leakage current and converting to IR.
down test. If there is no shielding or noise elimination circuit,
misjudgment is unavoidable.
E. Eliminating spark. Charging or discharging a large capacitance capacitor at high voltage would cause spark. Spark will
affect the accuracy of measurement and erode the contact point.
Punch Test
When a heavy current passes through a high DF capacitor,
less reliable capacitors can be easily detected. A T/S machine
can apply an AC voltage across the capacitor, let it charge and
discharge rapidly, then measure the high frequency DF.
Dual Tests
T/S machines always make the Cap/DF measurement after
the breakdown test. Using another LCR meter to make
another Cap/DF test before the breakdown test will greatly
enhance the functionality of the T/S machine. Comparing the
Cap/DF values measured before and after the breakdown test,
the following conclusions may be reached (see Figure 4):
Cap/DF Test
Using a digital LCR meter at
Figure 4: Dual testing of Cap/DE.
1KHz measuring frequency, the
• In Figure 4, when the Cap reading of meter A is smaller
accuracy of Cap may be up to ±0.05% and DF ±0.0002. Howthan that of meter B, it indicates too many pin holes on
ever, the accuracy of electrical parameters measured by a T/S
the film. The metal layer at the pinhole will be burned
machine may not be as high as the meters due to the jigs and
out at high voltage test and capacitance will be reduced
wiring on the machine. Precautions must be taken, and conafter self-healing.
sideration must be given to the following:
• Meter B recorded a no-good product (open or short), but
A. Direct contact four-wire connection for measuring
meter A recorded it good. This indicates a short circuit
Cap/DF. The ESR of film capacitor at high frequencies may be
had not been cleared at the metal spray clearing opera
as low as 10mΩ. Any additional impedance in the measuring
tion, or the lead attaching is not good.
circuit will affect the accuracy of high frequency DF measure• The DF of a low quality capacitor will go up after chargment. A carefully designed direct contact four-wire connection
ing or discharging.
measuring circuit must be realized.
None of these phenomena can be observed with only one
B. A broken wire or erratic contact in the measuring circuit
LCR meter.
could cause an IR test to provide a false reading of a very high
IR value. A breakdown test would misjudge as good product. A
computer program with simple preventive circuits will solve
Third Harmonic Distortion
these problems. Modern LCR meters and IR meters can detect
Capacitors of poor quality because of uneven film thickif there is a DUT (Device Under Test) or not.
ness, uneven metal deposition or uneven winding tightness
C. Constant current charge. In a breakdown test, longer
will cause nonlinear distortion when a signal is passing
dwelling time means a more reliable test. To obtain longer
through the capacitors. These capacitors are prone to longdwelling time, given the cycle time is a constant, we must cut
term instability of capacitance, poor voltage withstanding and
down the charging time. If a constant voltage power supply is
early stage breakdown. They can be detected by measuring
being used, five-time constants are required to get a near full
the third harmonic distortion of signal. Third harmonic disvoltage charge. This is too long, especially for larger capacitortion meters for this purpose are available.
tance and low rated voltage capacitor. Constant current charge
is the remedy. A powerful constant current power supply will
Summary
save considerable charging time.
There are a number of other tests and statistical analyses
D. Eliminating noise. In an IR test, the capacitor is a high
that can be performed by a state-of-the-art testing and
impedance DUT, while in a DF test, it is a small signal source.
sorting machine, but they are too numerous to cover in
These testing circuits are prone to noise interference. The noise
this article. All, however, serve a common purpose: to enmay come from the running motor, transformer, magnetic conhance productivity while improving product reliability and
tacts, or the voltage charge discharge of a capacitor under breakdurability.
26
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
INTERVIEW
Dr. Zandman Speaks Out
I
n 1962, Dr. Felix Zandman,a physicist with patents for PhotoStress®
coatings and instruments, founded
Vishay to develop and manufacture
bulk metal foil resistors. In the years
that followed, the electronics industry
has grown exponentially and so has
Vishay. Dr. Zandman has been at the
company’s helm throughout its history,
and today serves as Chairman and CEO
of this global leader. The following
exclusive interview was conducted by
Dennis M. Zogbi, publisher of Passive
Component Industry magazine.)
company with respect to the product
line, yes?
Zandman: Yes, this is true. I had been
looking to buy a company with major
market position in aluminum electrolytic capacitors, which was an obvious hole in our product offering. We had
tantalum, ceramic and DC film capacitors, but no aluminum. The purchase of
BCC gives us substantial share in the
Zogbi: Is the majority of BCC’s capacitor and resistor production going to
Israel?
Zandman: The majority of BCC’s capacitor and resistor production is going
to the Far East (India and China); some
of it, however, will go to Israel and the
Czech Republic.
Zogbi: The purchase of BCcomponents
filled in an important gap for the
Zandman: Kemet had a much smaller
volume and time commitment to Cabot;
hence, a smaller settlement. However,
our average price per pound of tantalum is substantially lower than
Kemet’s.
Zogbi: Yes, but such a commitment
to tantalum was unprecedented. But one
way to justify your settlement with Cabot
would be if you plan on making another
acquisition in tantalum capacitors with a
company that has no relationship with
Cabot. Is this your strategy?
Zogbi: Dr. Zandman, you recently purchased BCcomponents from Compass,
who had bought it from Philips in the
late 1990’s. Compass struggled to make
it profitable and yet you made it profitable in one quarter. How did you do
this?
Zandman: Compass is a financial institution and therefore could not bring
any synergies to the BCC acquisition.
Vishay, on the other hand, has many
low cost manufacturing locations and
therefore could transfer production
from certain European BCC facilities to
the Far East, Czech Republic or Israel.
Furthermore, synergies in the SGA
area were immediately executed turning the situation from red to black, because BCC’s SGA is essentially identical to Vishay’s. This permitted us to
reduce personnel immediately. This is
the main reason for the immediate
turnaround.
money– $425 million over four years.
Kemet settled their lawsuit with Cabot
for a quarter of that price.
Zandman: No, we are presently not
looking to buy another tantalum capacitor company.
Dr. Felix Zandman and his son,
Marc Zandman.
aluminum segment as well, especially
in Europe. Also, by combining the DC
film operations of Vishay Roederstein
with BCC’s DC film capacitor production, we are now number three in the
world in DC film capacitor production
behind Matsushita and Arcotronics.
Zogbi: I noted that you did not keep the
BCC Columbia facility in South Carolina, but sold it soon after the acquisition
to Jim Kaplan of Cornell-Dubilier Electronics.
Zandman: Yes, this is true; we did not
want to maintain the large can aluminum electrolytics as a product line.
We were mainly interested in the smaller size aluminum used in electronics,
while the large cans are used in industrial applications.
Zogbi: Let’s talk about tantalum for a
moment. I thought the settlement of the
lawsuit with Cabot Corporation regarding supply of capacitor grade tantalum
metal powder and wire was a lot of
Zogbi: I hear there are one or two for
sale in Japan.
Zandman: Really!
Zogbi: You expressed concern about an
article we did in Passive Component Industry magazine regarding Alpha Electronics in Japan.
Zandman: I wasn’t concerned about it.
My only comment is that as far as we
know, according to bank records, Alpha
sales last year and this year are in the
magnitude of $8-$9 million and not $25
million as you indicated. Furthermore,
they don’t have 90% of the Japanese
market, very far from it. Also, we are
not aware that they are marketing
strain gages.
Zogbi: Now that you have solidified your
product portfolio in passive components,
what will your next acquisition be?
Zandman: We do not discuss future
acquisitions. However, we can say that
we are always looking at opportunities
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
Continued on page 40
JULY/AUGUST 2003
27
FEATURE
Two New Nondestructive Tools
for Capacitor Evaluation
The 3-Dimensional Acoustic Solid
Tom Adams
Consultant, Sonoscan, Inc.
A
coustic micro imaging has been employed for more
than 20 years as a nondestructive means to visualize
the internal structure of ceramic chip capacitors. The
technique is frequently used to screen capacitors intended for
high-reliability applications, and is also used for failure
analysis after a defect has occurred.
Two new acoustic micro imaging methods have recently
been introduced that provide new ways to obtain information
about the internal structure of capacitors. One method
creates an “acoustic solid” that gives a three-dimensional
view of defects such as voids, delaminations or cracks inside a
capacitor. The other method generates a series of distinctive
two- dimensional images that display very subtle internal
features.
Conventional C-Mode Imaging
Both of these methods were developed at Sonoscan and are
based on the conventional C-mode acoustic micro imaging
technique that produces standard two-dimensional acoustic
images. In C-mode imaging, an ultrasonic transducer scans
the capacitor while alternately pulsing a focused beam of
ultrasound into the capacitor and receiving the return echo
signals. Pulsing and receiving both occur thousands of times
per second as the transducer scans the capacitor.
Inside the capacitor, the pulsed ultrasound is reflected
when it encounters a material interface. Each of the two
materials at an interface has its own density (g/cc) and its
own acoustic velocity (m/sec). The product of these two values
is termed the acoustic impedance of the material.
If the two materials at an interface have similar acoustic
impedances, the degree of reflection at the interface will be
low. The largest portion of the ultrasound will cross the interface and travel deeper into the capacitor. The greater the difference in acoustic impedances, the greater the degree of
reflection, and the stronger the echo signal. In capacitors, the
interfaces between the electrodes and the dielectric (if free
from defects) have low reflectivity, but the most frequent
defects – voids, delaminations and cracks – have very high reflectivity that produces very strong echo signal values.
Suppose that the transducer being used to scan a capacitor
has a frequency of 100MHz. The ultrasound being pulsed from
this transducer will cover a range of frequencies on both sides of
100MHz. The return echoes will also be time-gated electronically so that only those echo signals from a specified depth of interest within the capacitor are used to make the acoustic image.
28
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
The reason for gating the return echoes on a specific depth
is to provide the maximum resolution at that depth. An initial
scan might show, for example, that a delamination exists at a
depth of 0.28 microseconds below the top surface of a capacitor. The operator might gate the echoes from 0.25 to 0.31
microseconds, and the resulting planar image would display
only that specific depth, including the delamination.
To make an acoustic solid, the capacitor is scanned a number of times, depending on the physical thickness of the
capacitor; from 5 to 20 scans is typical. Each scan is gated on
a progressively deeper horizontal slice of the capacitor, and at
each scan the focus of the transducer is optimized for that
slice. The result is a collection of acoustic images that sequentially show the whole thickness of the capacitor from top
to bottom as it looks to very high frequency ultrasound. At
depths without defects, some of the slices contain little information and are essentially featureless.
The slice images are then assembled electronically into the
acoustic solid, which appears onscreen as an opaque rectilinear shape. Since essentially all of the visual data is inside the
acoustic solid, it is not, at this point, visually compelling. But
now the operator begins to manipulate the acoustic solid to
reveal the data inside.
Usually the acoustic solid is rotated to give an angled view.
Next, one or more corner sections may be removed electronically to show a specific depth. Alternately, entire slices may be
removed to display the slices below. The acoustic solid can
also be manipulated non-geometrically by removing all
portions of the acoustic solid that have specific acoustic characteristics.
Figure 1 and Figure 2 are the acoustic solids of a pair of
ceramic chip capacitors. The capacitor in Figure 1 has no internal defects. This capacitor would be suitable for a highreliability application, but acoustically there are practically
Figure 1: Acoustic solid representation of a ceramic
chip capacitor with no internal defects.
Capacitor Evaluation
no internal interfaces to reflect ultrasound, and the interior of
the capacitor looks featureless and empty. The three walls,
added to approximate the volume of the capacitor, show very
faint reflections.
Figure 2: Acoustic solid representation of a ceramic
chip capacitor with numerous delaminations and
cracks.
Figure 2 is the acoustic solid of a capacitor of the same type
and of the same dimensions, but with multiple internal delaminations and cracks at various depths. The white and gray
structures are the delaminations and cracks, while the defectfree areas are, as in Figure 1, transparent. At the right end
the downward-sloping feature is a crack that crosses several
layers of the dielectric. What appear to be crevices between
the defective areas are simply narrow regions having no defects. There are a few scattered smaller defects near the left
end of the capacitor.
Frequency-Domain Imaging
main images - all showing the same internal depth or interface - the observer first notices that there are strong changes
in visual contrast from one image to the next. An image made
at 38MHz will probably differ substantially from an image
made at 39MHz.
Next, the observer will notice that the fine details may not
look the same in each image. At some frequencies, the observer
has a better view of some of the fine details – better than at
other frequencies, and better than in a multi-frequency image. When using acoustic images to diagnose a problem, the
better view of the fine details provided by Frequency Domain
imaging can make it easier to pinpoint the cause of a failure
or anomaly.
Figure 3 and Figure 4 are two images of the same capacitor. Figure 3 is a conventional Time Domain image made with
a 50MHz transducer. The return echoes are gated rather
Figure 3: Conventional C-Mode imaging uses ultrasonic echoes of various frequencies to make pixels,
and shows three voids in this capacitor, although the
leftmost void is imaged very faintly.
This method, which is capable of imaging very
subtle internal details not accessible to other methods, depends on the multi-frequency pulsing of the
transducer. As mentioned earlier, an ultrasonic transducer rated at 100MHz actually pulses ultrasound in
a range of frequencies on both sides of the nominal
frequency – roughly from 75MHz to 125MHz.
In conventional C-Mode imaging, each pixel in the
acoustic image simply represents the strongest echo
signal at that particular point, whatever the frequency of the echo signal might be. The planar image that
results from scanning will consist of pixels representing pulses of many different frequencies (again, from Figure 4: Frequency Domain imaging at the individual frequency
about 75MHz to about 125MHz).
of 56 MHz reveals the three voids seen in Figure 3, plus a fourth
During the development of a technique called the void at the far left.
Virtual Rescanning Module, it was noted that the rewidely on the body of the capacitor. The two conspicuous,
turn echo signals could be decomposed into their individual
more or less round features are internal voids. There is a third
frequencies. (The Virtual Rescanning Module itself goes a
feature at the far left, but it is so faint that it is just barely
step beyond the acoustic solid method by collecting all of the
visible.
echo signals from the entire volume of the part.) If a capacitor
Figure 4 is the same capacitor imaged at the single
or other part was scanned, for example, by a 50MHz transf r equency of 56MHz, one of many images separated from the
ducer, Fast Fourier Transforms could be used to decompose
return echoes using a 50MHz transducer. The two large voids
the echo signals into separate frequencies. Instead of a single
are visible, and the smaller third void is more visible here
planar image, the output would be a large number of planar
than in the Time Domain image. In addition, there is a fourth
images, each of which was made purely by pixels representing
feature – probably another small void – near the left end of
ultrasound at a specific frequency. Thus the depth of interest
the capacitor. This feature is not visible at all in the Time
in a ceramic chip capacitor might yield images at 38MHz, at
Domain image, and showed up only in the Frequency Domain
39MHz, etc.
images.
When presented with such a sequence of Frequency DoPASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
29
Technical Paper
Cutouts
Filled Vias
Substrate
Cad Design and Layout:
Resistors
Plated Conductor Pattern
2nd Conductor
1st Polyimide Covering
3rd Conductor
2nd Polyimide Covering
Except for microwave applications
where sophisticated circuit modeling is
required, engineers can develop passive
circuit layout based on inputs received in
schematic format or from rough outline
drawings. The minimum information
needed includes: schematic or layout,
minimum/maximum substrate size, resistor tolerances/ratio tolerances, TCR/TC
track, power per resistor and metallization preference. Hybrid design layout
services can be provided if parts lists are
available.
Summary
Many issues affect the layout of complex designs. To achieve the best balance
for a given application, differences in material, size and performance must be taken
into
account and reflected in the specificaFilled Vias
tion and final layout. Close work with the
Figure 9: Expanded view of a thin film multilayer HDI circuit
manufacturer is recommended to establish a balanced workable design and to
consider all the critical process criteria. If properly designed,
Continued from page 20
overall quality and performance can be enhanced.
commonly used is polyimide because of its patterning properties and processing temperatures.
The area savings garnered by using this approach are sumReferences
marized in Figure 8. It is an approximation since many facThin Film Technology Handbook. Aicha A.R. Elshabinitors can affect area usage.
Riad, Fred D. Bartlow III, McGraw Hill 1998.
4th Conductor
Vishay
Continued from page 6
a nnounced a new series of microwave resistors and thin
film, center-tapped, dual-valved resistors. The microwave resistor series features dimensions as small as 0.010-inch
(0.25mm) by 0.020-inch (0.5mm). Typical applications for the
new devices include amplifiers, oscillators, attenuators, couplers, and filters.
The center-tapped, dual-value resistors enable more flexible hybrid circuit designs. They are built around the CTQ resistor chip, which measures just 0.030-inch by 0.030-inch. The
chip provides low shunt capacitance of <0.1pF, and low-noise
operation for high performance in hybrid circuits for test and
measurement systems.
A Model Thin-Film Facility
As construction is completed on damaged sections of the
building and interiors, and new equipment continues to come
on line, production capabilities have been enhanced.
According to Smith, new dicing systems have dramatically
increased yields while reducing downtime an estimated 85%
over older systems. All part information is digitally cataloged
in the system, increasing speed and accuracy of inventory
management.
Smith said the Warwick facility now houses the world’s
most modern laser trimming operation, providing high-precision beam positioning combined with ultra-stable diode-pow-
30
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
ered lasers. All systems employ pattern recognition for automatic and repeatable operation. New laser scribing and
drilling systems provide the same advantages, plus reduced
thermal effects.
“Not only will this facility enable us to set new standards
for quality and throughput,” says Smith, “it will also enhance
Vishay Electro-Films’ ability to support more intricate HDI
designs and individually designed substrates.”
By the end of the summer, all three buildings within the
Warwick facility will be completed and temporary trailers
removed. In the fall and winter, new plating line and sputtering equipment will be installed and final touches will be
completed on the buildings’ infrastructure and appearance.
When completed and fully functional by the end of this
year, the company says its Warwick facility will be the most
advanced thin film facility in the world, doubling production
capacity and providing greater flexibility and accuracy for
specialized designs.
“The goal from the beginning has been not just to come
back, but to increase Vishay Electro-Films’ innovation and
production level,” says Smith. “We are on track to fulfilling
that goal. By this time next year, the fire will be a distant
memory.”
A special web site with news updates and a virtual tour of
the Vishay Electro-Films facility in Warwick, R.I., is available
on-line at www.vishay-efi.com.
PEOPLE WATCH
Xanoptix Names New CEO and New Director
Xanoptix announced the appointment of Rob Baxter to the
position of chief executive officer of the company, and named
Russ Johnsen to its board of directors. Based in Merrimack,
NH, Xanoptix is a developer of 3-dimensional stacked semiconductor hybrid integrated circuits and a manufacturer of
high-speed optical connection products.
Rob Baxter comes to Xanoptix from Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Ltd., where he was senior vice president and member of the office of the president. At Chartered,
Baxter drove the customer, product and business strategies
that successfully positioned the company for its IPO in 1999.
He also held vice president and general manager positions
during a 16-year career at Motorola Inc. in Europe, US and
Japan.
Russ Johnsen is formerly vice president of corporate business development of Analog Devices Inc. At Analog, he helped
to found the communications products division, which he led
for eight years as vice president and general manager.
Johnsen currently serves as a member of the board of directors at Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. and is chairman of
AgileView Software, Inc.
James Norrod, Xanoptix’s current
CEO, will continue to serve as chairman
of the board. For more information, see
www.xanoptix.com.
advancement of that segment of the industry. Bette Cooper is
president of the association and continues to serve in that
c apacity. For more information, visit www.meptec.org.
Duca Joins TTI Board of Directors
TTI, Inc. announced that Robert J. Duca has joined the
company’s board of directors and will play an active role in
helping TTI meet its future strategic needs.
Duca received his BSEE degree from Lafayette College,
and worked in the semiconductor industry with RCA, Texas
Instruments, Mostek and Fairchild. His twenty years in that
industry segment included positions ranging from field applications engineer to field sales engineer to senior field management. Duca then transitioned to the distribution sector of
the business in a senior management position at Kierulff
Electronics. Later, at Future Electronics, Duca served as the
corporate vice president of U.S. operations for 10 years. In
1998, Duca established a consulting firm, Robert Duca &
Associates, to work with corporate clients in the areas of
Continued on page 40
MEPTEC Appoints Executive
D irector
MEPTEC (MicroElectronics Packaging and Test Engineering Council)
announced the appointment of Phil
Marcoux as executive director.
Marcoux has over thirty years of involvement in the semiconductor industry
as an engineer, CEO, entrepreneur and
volunteer. In 1981 he founded and was
CEO of AWI, one of the first companies in
the United States to specialize in SMT
assembly and test. In 1992 he was a
founder and CEO of one of the industry’s
first wafer level packaging companies,
ChipScale. Marcoux also served as a
member of the Surface Mount Technology
Council for fourteen years.
Based in Mountain View, CA,
MEPTEC is a trade association of over
500 semiconductor suppliers, manufacturers and individuals committed to
enhancing the competitiveness of the
back-end portion of the semiconductor
business. Since its inception 20 years
ago, MEPTEC has been concerned
exclusively with assembly, packaging
and test issues and is dedicated to the
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
31
FEATURE
Power Capacitor Chips for
Automotive Low Power Converters
Harald Vetter, EPCOS AG
T
he demand for miniaturization, modularization and
enhanced performance continues to challenge engineers
developing converter components. Higher requirements
for capacitors include smaller geometrical target dimensions
(LxWxH), circuit inductance Lσ capable of avoiding an oscillatory operation at the switching frequency, improved thermal-current Ith carrying
capability
and
enhanced connection
systems. These challenges have led to the
development of the
power capacitor chip
(PCC), a power cap
designed to set a new
standards for DC link
Figure 1: The PCC-LP
capacitors, a key converter
component. The PCC concept has been optimized for low power applications like automotive, traction auxiliary drives and industrial converters.
on the busbar of the IGBT converter, or produced with an integrated busbar. Designs with screw holes for easy integration
in the converter system are also available. The low capacitance drift and the high current-carrying capability provide a
long service life.
MPM Winding
The winding technology developed for MPM can achieve
flat and wrinkle-free stacked windings in powercap dimensions, using metallized polymer films starting with
PET[CHT] 1,5µm or PP[PHD] 2,8µm. Figure 2 shows the following details: 1. insulating area via saw cut, 2. free margin
and “wavy-smooth” cut combination, 3. precise extension, 4.
shooping layer, 5. film (flat-step- a/o structured metallized).
Figure 3 provides
an impression of MPM
winding
dimension
flexibility, based on
windings with a standard length L=30050mm, W=150-30mm.
H=50-5mm.
Requirement Profile
For IGBT converters, the total circuit inductance Lσ must
be considerably smaller; the thermal current Ith and the peak
current I s must be at least twice that of the known requirements for GTO converters. New control concepts permit much
lower rated capacitance CR for the DC-link with a correspondingly higher thermal current load Ith. These characteristics allow film capacitors like PCC to be considered as
alternatives to aluminum electrolytic capacitors.
Figure 2: MPM-winding design details.
PCC Design
The PCC-LP™ development for compact low power converter structures is based on new metallized polymer multilayer technology (MPM Technology™) in a powercap stacked
winding design. A “wavy-smooth” cut combination maximizes
the effective contact area via precisely wound MPM-windings
with a defined small offset. The result is extremely high pulse
current handling capability without any contact edge problems. The rated voltage VR bandwidth reaches from 42VDC
for the Powernet up to 1000VDC for automotive and industrial applications. The rated capacitance CR range starts at
50µF up to 4000µF, depending on the system requirements.
PCC-LPs can be produced without any outer case, therefore providing high geometrical flexibility as a “naked capacitor.” Or, they can be sealed in a resin filled plastic case. This
absolutely flat capacitor generation can be mounted directly
32
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
Figure 3: MPM-winding dimension flexibility.
Applications
The PCC has been optimized for low power applications
like automotive, traction auxiliary drives and industrial converters. This PCC-LP series primarily uses the volume-saving
MPM winding technology. The “naked” PCC-LPs are intended
for integration in a sealed converter case, but fully insulated
designs are also available. The terminals are attached to the
metal spray or contact zone of the windings (location of the
terminals depends on the IGBT connectors).
The technical characteristics of electrolytic capacitors differ from those of self-healing power capacitors. The selection
Low Power Converters
hole(s) or integrated busbars, to optimize the inverter
layout.
Technical Data
Rated voltage range
VR = 40 to 1000V DC
Rated capacitance
CR = 50 to 4000µF + –10% or +/–5%
Rated rms current
IR = up to 250A rms
Inductance
Lσ = 3 to 30nH, depending on design
Dielectric loss factor
tanδ0 = 2x10–4 >PHD / 15x10–4 >PET
Temperature range
T0min/Tomax –40˚C to + 125˚C
Standards
IEC 1071, IEC 68, NFF-16, UL 94-0
Advanced Design Aspects
Mounting via screw holes through the winding on the
cooling plate, or on the busbar, provides superior mechanical
performance and a highly-compact design (see Figure 6).
The PCC-LP optimal location is on the rear side of the water
cooler. It is clamped via the low inductance interconnection
to the cooling plate. A hermetically sealed converter housing
encloses the busbar-capacitor assembly in cases of naked or
sealed PCC-LP designs (Figure 7).
Figure 4: Design options.
of capacitor technology should be determined by the individual load specifications. However, PCC solutions are especially
beneficial in applications requiring high peak voltage, pulse
and thermal current handling capability, constant capacitance, long service life and simple system integration.
If the capacitor design is taken into consideration at an
early stage of the converter development, optimized solutions
can be implemented for a maximum customer benefit. Figure
4 provides ranges for several important design considerations.
Figure 7: Hermetically sealed, easy mount cooling
plate, integrated busbar.
Design Differentiation
Figure 5 provides an example of a standard design. System
designers can also use custom design solutions, such as screw
Figure 5: Standard LP with flat copper strips, naked.
PCC-LP Benefits
The MPM technology has been successfully deployed in numerous traction projects worldwide. Benefits of the PCC concept for low power converter applications include:
• Low inductance design for an ultra low loop inductance
• Low volume requirement (Vphys / Vtech≈1)
• Low functional weight
• Easily integrated into a converter casing
• High permissible ambient temperature
• Mounting in any direction, on the busbar or on the cool
ing plate
• High thermal and pulse current handling capability
• High over voltage strength
• No additional decoupling capacitors needed
• Robust and reliable design
• Oil free, low fire hazard
• Highly constant capacitance for long service life
Trends
Figure 6: Screw holes radial through the winding.
In low power converter electronics the trend continues
toward more compact components, total system integration
and modularity. These requirements will be supported by
developing and supplying innovative products with a focus on
metallization, current-carrying capacity, operating field
strength and performance improvements for plain film.
Design and process improvements in these areas will allow
the replacement of older technologies much faster than earlier expected.
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
33
NEWSMAKERS
American Durafilm Adds DuPont’s Line Of Kapton® KH Films
American Durafilm Company is broadening its distribution and fabrication of DuPont high performance film with the
addition of Kapton ® KH Alloy 600 clad heater laminate to its
stable of fluoropolymer products.
KH laminate is especially suited to aerospace, industrial,
military, and automotive applications. The all-polyimide construction of Kapton KH makes it easy to etch into circuits,
gives it a long performance life, and is UL approved. KH is
available through American Durafilm in various sizes and is
sold by the square foot.
For more information, visit www.americandurafilm.com
20-pin connector is $0.42 each, and $0.15 each for the 30-pin
connectors. Pricing for the 6292 Series, 18-pin connector is
$0.52 each, and $0.45 each for 30-pin connectors. For more
information, see www.avxcorp.com.
Vishay Introduces Metallized Film Power Capacitors
Vishay Intertechnology announced a new series of heavyduty, metallized film power capacitors with current ratings as
high as 150A and very low self-inductance. The Vishay ESTA
HDMKP series devices serve as low-cost capacitor solutions
for DC and AC filtering and for DC linking in uninterruptible
power supplies and in power converters for traction and
industrial drives.
AVX Offers Lead-Free FPC/FFC Connector
AVX Corporation introduced 0.5mm pitch, low profile, flexible printed circuit (FPC)/flat flexible cable (FFC) connectors,
designed to provide design engineers an environmentally
HDMKP capacitors are available in six standard voltages
from 900V to 2700VDC and from 220V to 660VAC, with voltages up to 4800VDC available on request. Capacitance values
range from 40µF to 1100µF, with a capacitance tolerance of
±5%. Non-standard capacitance values also are available to
designers on request.
Samples and production quantities of the new HDMKP
series capacitors are available now, with lead times of eight
weeks. Pricing for U.S. delivery in 50,000-piece quantities
starts at $5.00 per piece. For more information, see
www.vishay.com.
friendly method of making PCB connections in PCs and digital AV devices.
These devices are available with either flip-lock (6238
Series) or slide-type (6292 Series) connections. Both series
offer right-angle ZIF (zero insertion force) connections. The
0.5mm pitch with a low profile of 1.1mm (applicable FPC
thickness of 0.3mm) reduces the mounting area as much as
42% when compared to current products. Applications include
PCB-to-PCB and PCB-to-display connections in laptop PCs,
AV digital, digital still (DSC) and digital video cameras (DVC.
In quantities of 10,000, typical pricing for the 6238 Series,
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PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
Welwyn Components Offers High Voltage Precision Thin Film Resistors
Welwyn Components, a manufacturing subsidiary of TT
electronics, introduced the CAR Series ultra precision metal
film resistors, designed to provide high stability under temperature fluctuations of 5ppm/ºC and a tolerance down to
0.01%.
The CAR Series resistors have a specially formulated
epoxy coating that offers high reliability and superior moisture performance, giving a typical long-term damp heat
Newsmakers
organic materials system, ceramic air-fired system, ceramic
nitrogen-fired system and the Anotherm™ (printed circuit
direct to heat sink) aluminum system.
The sheet resistance, TCRs and dielectric strength cover a
wide range enabling designers to specify values to meet their
design needs. Additional technical information can be found
at www.irctt.com.
Alpha Electronics
Power Resistor
Releases
Ultra-Precision
Alpha Electronics Corp. of America introduced the type
PSB ultra-precision power resistor, available in the 0.001Ω to
1Ω range. The PSB resistor is capable of handling a maximum
stability of 0.02%. They are designed for use in weighing and
measurement instrumentation equipment that requires stability and precision over a long period of time.
Three power ratings are available: 0.25W, 0.33W and 0.5W
at 70ºC ambient. Limiting voltages are 250V, 350V and 500V,
respectively. Pricing for the CAR Series is $0.60 each for the
.02%, 10ppm/ºC part, with lead times from 4 to 6 weeks.
For more information visit www.welwyn-tt.com.
IRC Develops Thick Film Technology for Application-Specific Designs
TT electronics IRC expanded its offering of thick film technology, and now offers more than 25 choices in system materials and a range of processes.
working current of 100 amperes while yielding TCRs as low as
0±50ppm/°C and precise tolerances as low as ±0.1%.
Specifications include low noise, low TCR, long-term stability and high precision current sensing applications, including test instrumentation for large batteries, voltage/current
generators and precision power supplies. The PSB resistor
yields excellent temperature characteristics created by metal
foil technology, including accurate sub-ohm values on Kelvin
terminations, and can be mounted to a heat sink or watercooled radiator.
For more information, see www.alpha-amer.com.
Ametherm Introduces Mega Surge Thermistors
The company said a variety of materials are available for
use within each of four systems based on the substrate: the
Ametherm announced its MegaSurge series thermistors,
specially designed for limiting high
inrush energy and high inrush currents. MegaSurge thermistors are
rated to 680 volts and are capable of
withstanding up to 900 joules of energy and 50 amperes of continuous
current.
Typical applications include: AC
motors, medical MRI machines, high end audio equipment,
toroidal transformers up to 4.0KVA, plasma cutting tools and
other cutting devices, generators and fractional & larger HP
motor drives.
For more information, visit www.ametherm.com.
PASSIVECOMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
35
Newsmakers
EPCOS Announces HiCap Film Capacitors for
Compact Converter Design
EPCOS announced its HiCap Film Capacitors, a new generation of compact capacitors based on metallized plastic film
technology. The company said the line is positioned to move
into applications previously reserved for aluminum electrolytic capacitors in industrial, telecom and automotive converters.
HiCap Film Capacitors are rated from 42VDC to 400VDC
with capacitance values up to 100mF. HiCap Film Capacitors
use PET stacked technology featuring high pulse resistivity.
They are available with lead wires, strap terminals and in
SMD compatible configurations like gull wings or high reliability soldering plates for reflow.
Price range is $0.07-$0.12/mF in 100K/yr volumes, delivery
lead time is 6-8 weeks. For additional information visit
www.epcos.com.
with six new models of molded wirewound resistors. RCD
Series MWM features inherent wirewound performance (per
MIL-R-26) designed for applications that are too demanding
for film resistors.
The MWM product line includes eleven sizes ranging from
0.5-watt to 5-watts including three new low-profile models.
RCD’s new mini low-profile package sizes include a 0.5-watt
(MWM1/2L), 1-watt (MWM1L) and 2-watt (MWM2L) specifically designed for ultra-low ohmic applications and available
in a limited resistance range from 0.002W to 0.2W, with tolerances from 0.01% to 10%.
Additionally, RCD released 3 new intermediate sizes, including a 2-watt (MWM2S), 2.7-watt (MWM27) and a 3-watt
(MWM3S) that offer package savings of nearly 40% when
compared to their traditional counterparts.
Typical pricing is less than $.39 each at 1000-piece levels
for the 0.5-watt and about $.90 for the 5-watt version. Available through RCD’s SWIFT™ delivery program (Ship WIthin
Fifty Two hours) for faster delivery requirements with a modest price premium, or standard production lead times of six to
eight weeks. For more information, see www.rcdcomponents.com.
Cooper Announces Family of Low Profile Inductors
Cooper Electronic Technologies, a business unit of Cooper
Bussman, released the Coiltronics ® FP2 and FP4 (Flat Pac ™)
families of inductors. They are low profile, high current, surface mounted devices with a gapped ferrite core for optimum
efficiency at very high switching frequencies. This core makes
the inductor line more cost effective than other less efficient
products.
RCD Expands Surface Mount Power Resistor
Line
RCD Components has expanded its MWM resistor family
The low profile (3 mm – 5 mm height), combined with very
low DCR (under 0.5 milli-ohm for all values) makes the Flat
Pac suitable for use in high frequency VRM modules. Other
applications include multi-phase regulators, DC-DC converters and second-stage filter inductors.
FP2 and FP4 inductors are available in inductance values
ranging from 47nH to 480nH and up to 64A peak current ratings. Tape and reeling packaging is standard.
For more information, visit www.cooperET.com.
Continued on page 38
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PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
Newsmakers
Continued from page 36
Littelfuse Introduces High Capacity GDT Surge
Suppressor Product Line
Littelfuse introduced a proprietary gas plasma family of
devices (Gas Discharge Tube, or GDT) designed for use in a
wide range of power and data protection applications.
The new GDTs are packaged in small footprint leaded and
surface mount configurations, making them suitable for applications in broadband, MDF (Main Distribution Frame),
Tyco Electronics Releases Thin Footprint General
Purpose Relay
central office and access. Applications include both data and
power source protection, typically associated with high frequency circuits operating below 100V.
Littelfuse Gas Plasma OVP devices (GDTs) have the ability to handle very high current surges (up to 10,000A) while
effectively suppressing overvoltage transients. Their low
capacitance (typically 1-2pF), high insulation resistance
(greater than 1GΩ) and low leakage ensure that the part has
virtually no effect on the protected system during normal
(non-surge) operating conditions. The GDTs also present no
signal loss up to 1.8GHz, allowing them to be used in broadband applications.
Additional electrical parameters and performance characteristics are available at www.Littelfuse.com.
Tyco Electronics announced the availability of the OEG
PCN series relay. PCN series relays have a slim (5mm width)
design that permits high-density spacing on printed circuit
boards. The relay has a 1-form-Acontact arrangement (singlepole, single throw, normally open).
OEG PCN relays are suitable for many applications in
industrial automation including control panels, I/O panels
and PLCs.
Electrocube Offers Seacor Capacitors
As a result of its acquisition of Seacor, Electrocube is now
offering the Seacor capacitor line, including: general purpose
and precision, high voltage polyester, high pulse polypropylene, X2 suppression, motor start/run and standard/high
ripple-current electrolytic capacitors.
The capacitors are offered in a wide selection of standard
designs and features, and are available with UL, CSA, SEV
and VDC approvals.
The Seacor capacitors expand Electrocube’s existing offerings of AC and DC film capacitors, RC networks, IGBT snubbers, EMI filters, aluminum foil transformers, aircraft lighting ballasts and other custom designed components.
For more information, visit www.electrocube.com.
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PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
PCN relays are rated for 3Aand handle switching voltages
up to 250VAC or 30VDC resistive. Expected electrical life of
the relay is 100,000 operations at the rated load. Bifurcated,
gold plated nickel contacts are also capable of reliably switching loads as low as 1mA @ 5VDC.
Printed circuit terminals in an in-line configuration are
provided for board mounting. The relay is enclosed in a UL
94V-0 rated housing that is RT III and wash-tight.
For more information, see www.tycoelectronics.com.
People Watch
Continued from page 31
strategic sales, strategic planning and general management.
TTI, Inc. is a global electronics distributor specializing in
the passive, interconnect and electromechanical markets. For
more information, visit www.ttiinc.com.
Murata Electronics North America Names President
Murata Electronics North America named Hiroshi Jozuka
as president. With almost
25 years experience at the
company, Jozuka most recently served as managing director for Murata
Singapore, the largest
capacitor manufacturer
outside of Japan. Jozuka
has held various management positions within the
Kyoto and Fukui locations, such as g e n e r a l
m a n a g e r (Fukui) and
manager for Kyoto’s planning department. Previously, he worked at Hitachi
Zosen Corporation for 10
years before moving into
the general administration department at Murata.
Murata Electronics North America, Inc. is one of 47 wholly
owned su b s i d i a r i e s o f t h e worldwide organization of
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. of Japan (NIKKEI:6981).
Established in 1965, U.S. operations are headquartered in
Smyrna, Georgia, with a manufacturing facility in State
College, Pennsylvania. For more information, see www.muratanorthamerica.com.
IDEA Adds Six Members
Independent Distributors of Electronics Association
(IDEA), a recently-launched non-profit trade association,
announced the addition of six new members. They are: SG
Industries, Inland Empire Components, Advanced MP Technology, The Broker Forum, ERAI and netCOMPONENTS.
Based in Princeton, NJ, IDEA represents the independent
distributor market segment, seeking to raise quality by the
establishment of standards and educating members and
others who are willing to take the steps necessary to meet
standards.
For more information, visit www.IDofEA.org.
People news?
Spread the word about what’s happening at
your company. If you have a personnel
announcement, email your info to Eric Gregg at
eric@paumanokgroup.com for consideration.
Photos should be sent in high resolution TIFF or
JPEG formats.
Interview
Continued from page 27
distribution model?
in both passives and actives areas. However, we are also exploring vertical integration strategies such as that employed
in our Measurements Group where we have expanded our ac tivities from strain gage into strain gage transducers and
eventually into strain gage instrumentation and systems. In
the component area, we are starting to produce packages of
several Vishay components forming a function such as DC/DC
converters.
Zandman: We do not and will not function like a distributor;
we do not intend to keep inventory for immediate deliveries,
as this is the main responsibility for a distributor. A very
broad product line doesn’t make us a distributor. However,
it puts us in a better position for getting more business with
distributors and OEM’s because of the breadth of the line.
Zogbi: So, maybe you are interested in buying a power
supply company?
Zandman: I have no specific plans to do so now, but that
could be a model for vertical integration for Vishay component
business.
Zogbi: Now that you have a substantial manufacturing
model in both discrete passive components and discrete semiconductors, isn’t the Vishay model appearing more like a
40
PASSIVE COMPONENT INDUSTRY
JULY/AUGUST 2003
Zogbi: What about a line of succession, will Marc Zandman
take over any time soon?
Zandman: It is my intention, assuming shareholders approval, to have Marc Zandman, my son, who has been with
Vishay for about 20 years, take over one day as Chairman.
When this will happen, I cannot say, as I am not planning to
retire. Depending on time, the next Chairman may be
Avi Eden and eventually Marc. Marc is now in charge of all
the Israeli Operations and he is also the Manager of the Measurements Group on a global basis.