Capacitor Review
Q1 - 2011
Capacitance Offering by Technology
1.0uF ~ 1000uF Common SMT Requirements
 Ceramic (MLCCs) dominate lower range of capacitance values (0.5pF ~ 10uF)
 High Capacitance X5R MLCCs (Cap 10uF ~ 100uF)
 Film capacitors cover moderate cap range with increasing sizes with capacitance & voltage rating
 Tantalum capacitors cover 0.1uF up to 1000uF in low VDC ratings
 Aluminum E-Caps cover wide capacitance value range and supports higher VDC ratings.
 Double layer capacitors (Farad values) in use for back-up and short term power applications
1uF ~ 2200uF / 2.5VDC ~ 100VDC
SMT Capacitor Offering by Technology
Capacitance Voltage Range Comparison - SMT Capacitors (1uF ~ 2200uF / 2.5VDC ~ 100VDC )
Voltage
100VDC
80VDC
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
63VDC
50VDC
35VDC
25VDC
16VDC
12.5VDC
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
10VDC
8VDC
↑
↑
6.3VDC
4VDC
2.5VDC
↑
↑
Capacitance 1.0uF
Icon
↑
↑
2.2uF
3.3uF
↑
4.7uF
10uF
22uF
33uF
47uF
100uF
150uF
220uF
330uF
470uF
1000uF 2200uF
Component Image
Type
Format
Tantalum Electrolytic
SMT Flat Chip
Ceramic Chip - MLCC
SMT Flat Chip
Use NIC QuickBUILDER Tool
to easily select & compare capacitors
Aluminum Electrolytic
SMT V-Chip
 www.niccomp.com/quickbuilder/qb_capacitor.php
Solid Aluminum Electrolytic
SMT Flat Chip
SMT Capacitor Technology Comparison
SMT Flat-Chip
Solid
Aluminum
Electrolytic
SMT V-Chip Aluminum Electrolytic
SMT
Tantalum
Electrolytic
SMT
MLCC
Ceramic






Lowest Cost
High WVDC
Stability Over Voltage
Higher ESR
Wear-out (time & temperature)
Tallest – Largest Size
SMT V-Chip Aluminum Electrolytic
 Smallest Foot Print
 Non-Polarized
 Lowest ESR




Unstable over Voltage (VDC)
Unstable over Time (Aging)
Cracking = Short Failure Mode
Higher Cost – High CV
SMT MLCC Ceramic





Small Size
Stability Over Voltage
Stable over Time
Higher Cost
Shorting Failure Mode
SMT Tantalum Electrolytic





Low ESR - High RCR
Stability Over Voltage
Stable over Time
Higher Cost
Shorting Failure Mode
SMT Flat-Chip Solid Aluminum Electrolytic
Capacitor Technology Comparison
Capacitor
Type
Ceramic
Film
Aluminum
Electrolytic
Tantalum
Electrolytic
Derating
Voltage
None
None
None
Yes
Advantage
Weakness
Temp
Pros
Cons
None




None
 Non-Polarized
 Transient Resistant
 Stability: Voltage & Temp
None






Yes
Non-Polarized
Small Size
Transient Resistant
Low Cost
High Cap & High VDC
Surge VDC Resistant
Self Healing
Open failure mode (Typ)
Low Cost
Stability: Voltage
 Long Lifetime
 Small Sizes
 Stability: Voltage & Temp
 Large Voltage Coefficient
& Aging (X7R, X5R, Y5V)
 Limited cap range
 Short failure mode (Typ)
 Large Size
 Higher Cost
 Limited Soldering Heat
 Polarized
 Limited Lifetime
 Large Size




Polarized
Low VDC
Limited surge resistance
Short failure mode (Typ)
Capacitor Use Comparison
Capacitor
Type
Ceramic
Film
Aluminum
Electrolytic
Tantalum
Electrolytic
Sweet Spots
Reasons
Where most commonly used
Why preferred
Capacitance values up to 10uF
Coupling, filtering and bypass
High Voltage (low cap values)
High Frequency (low ESL)
Small hand-held
DC-DC
High power applications
AC Line
Motor start
Impedance matching
A to D conversion
Audiophile, Test & Inst
Applications
Not suggested
 AC Line
Lowest Cost
(C<10uF)
(Limited to safety agency certified
versions)
Lowest ESL
Low ESR
Smallest size
 X7R, X5R & Y5V:
Circuits requiring stability
over VDC, temp or time
 A to D conversion
 Audiophile, Test & Inst
High power
capabilities
Self healing of
metallized types
 Cost factor prohibits use
of film capacitors from use
in many applications
Capacitance values above 1uF
Linear & HV Power Supplies
Bulk storage
Filtering & Bypass
Lowest Cost
Capacitance values above 1uF
Small Hand-Held
Filtering & Bypass
Small size
No wear out
Low Cost
(C>10uF, V>16VDC)
Tolerance to
surges




Timing Applications
VAC applications
Avionics
Harsh Environments
 Input circuits of power
supplies (AC-DC & DC-DC)
 Timing Applications
 VAC applications
SMT Capacitor Sweet Spots
Sweet Spots: Case Sizes & Tolerances:
Device
SMT
Capacitors
Sweet Spot
Package
Sweet Spot
Tolerances
MLCC
0402
0201 
0603
≥ 0805 
NPO = 5% (J)
X7R = 10% (K)
High Cap X5R = 10% (K)
& 20% (M)
Y5V = +80%/-20% (Z)
X5R (1uF ~ 100uF)
X7R (0.01uF ~ 1uF)
Y5V for non critical
applications
Film
0805 & 1206
2% (G) & 5% (J)
PPS film best choice for
SAC Alloy reflow soldering
Alum
E-cap
5x5.5
6.3x6.3
6.3x8
20% is suggested
tolerance
Long LT on larger sizes
(>8mm diameter)
limited global capacity
Tant
E-cap
J, P, A, A2
reduced
sizes
10% (K) & 20% (M)
High Cap >10uF
Lower profile and stability
over MLCCs
Type
Notes
Trends - Suggestions
 X5R dominates ≥1uF, X7R limited to higher VDC ratings
 Avoid use of tolerances tighter than shown above
 Use Alum E-caps over Tant E-caps in higher voltage (and transient risky) applications
 Use film caps only when performance requirements warrant
Material Costs Trend: Tantalum E-Caps
300
Tantalum Material Cost >200% increase over last 12 months
240
250
216
200
Price
Index
166
150
121
100
97
100
100
97
97
101
108
100
50
2009
0
2010
Capacitor Options
Suggestions to Mitigate Potential Tantalum Capacitor Issues:
… Price Increases and , or Shortages:
• Plan and purchase as early as possible
• Consider switch to reduced case size tantalum electrolytic capacitors as less
price increase expected & larger production capacity in smaller case sizes
• Consider use of liquid electrolyte aluminum electrolytic capacitors for high
capacitance & high voltage (VDC) replacements; “V-Chip”
• For large (D-V-E case sizes; 7343 size*) consider use of solid polymer
aluminum electrolytic capacitors in same case size (* fit same PCB foot print & land
pads)
• Consider use of MLCCs (X5R) for low capacitance & low voltage replacements
• Contact NIC to review your requirements [ NIC technical support tpmg@niccomp.com ]
MLCCs replacements
For SMT Tantalum Capacitors
Please Note The Following:
 High capacitance MLCCs (such as those listed below) will exhibit capacitance
change with applied voltage, over temperature, over time and may exhibit
piezoelectric properties not seen with tantalum electrolytic capacitors.
 Please review your application with NIC technical support @ tpmg@niccomp.com
SMT Tantalum Cap Specifications:
www.niccomp.com/catalog/ntct.pdf
 X7R MLCC Cap Specifications:
www.niccomp.com/catalog/nmc2.pdf
Common 1.0uF C-V Sizes
Cap
Code
Cap
Voltage
Size
Code
Size
English
Size
Metric
105
1.0uF
10VDC
P
0805
2012
NTC-T105K10TRPF
NMC0805X7R105K10TRPF
Same Size, Same CV
105
1.0uF
10VDC
A2
1206
3216
NTC-T105M10TRA2F
NMC1206X7R105K16TRPF
Same Size, Higher VDC
105
1.0uF
16VDC
J
0603
1608
NTC-T105M16TRJF
NMC0603X7R105K16TRPF
Same Size, Same CV
105
1.0uF
16VDC
A
1206
3216
NTC-T105K16TRAF
NMC1206X7R105K16TRPF
Same Size, Same CV
105
1.0uF
20VDC
A
1206
3216
NTC-T105K20TRAF
NMC1206X7R105K25TRPLP3KF
Same Size, Higher VDC
105
1.0uF
25VDC
A
1206
3216
NTC-T105K25TRAF
NMC1206X7R105K25TRPLP3KF
Same Size, Same CV
105
1.0uF
35VDC
A
1206
3216
NTC-T105K35TRAF
NMC1206X7R105K50TRPLPF
Same Size, Higher VDC
105
1.0uF
35VDC
B
1411
3528
NTC-T105K35TRBF
NMC1210X7R105K100TRPLP1K
Smaller Size, Higher VDC
105
1.0uF
50VDC
C
2412
6032
NTC-T105K50TRCF
NMC1210X7R105K100TRPLP1K
Smaller Size, Higher VDC
NIC TANTALUM PN
Alternative
NIC MLCC PN
SMT MLCC Ceramic
SMT
Tantalum
Electrolytic
Replace With
Notes
Compare Capacitors
 www.niccomp.com/quickbuilder/qb_capacitor.php
NIC QuickBUILDER
Component selection and comparison tool / Provides comparison of different type capacitors
Such as comparing tantalum electrolytic to aluminum electrolytic, or MLCC ceramic capacitors
Example below shows 47uF, 10VDC comparison; MnO2 cathode tantalum, Polymer cathode tantalum & X5R ceramic MLCC
Need Help?
Contact NIC to review your requirements
[ NIC technical support tpmg@niccomp.com ]