MLCC Shortages—Polymer Electrolytics Can Help

Focus:

As the multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) industry experiences a significant capacity and supply issue, engineers may consider polymer electrolytic capacitors as an alternative. This short article discusses the operating conditions under which polymer electrolytics are viable replacements for MLCCs in power supply applications. Kemet’s KO-CAPs are used as examples, though the same principles apply with other tantalum-based polymer electrolytic capacitor series. These capacitor replacement guidelines are demonstrated using a buck converter design example. Article includes a decision tree flowchart to determine whether KO-CAPs are viable replacements for MLCCs. The benefits of replacing a bank of MLCCs with a single polymer electrolytic are discussed.

What you’ll learn:

• How to determine whether polymer electrolytic capacitors are viable replacements for multilayer ceramic capacitors in power supply applications

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Author & Publication:

Wilmer Companioni, KEMET, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., How2Power Today, Jan 16 2019

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