®
KEMET®
POLYMER TANTALUM CHIP CAPACITORS
COMPONENT PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
Introduction
4. Voltage Ratings
KEMET has developed a new type of tantalum capacitor
that replaces the solid manganese dioxide electrode with
a solid conductive polymer. This product is named the
KO-CAP for KEMET Organic Capacitor. The basic fami-
lies are the T520 and T530 series. A separate detail of
performance characteristics is presented here as there
are some differences between the polymer tantalums and
the standard MnO2 types. Like all KEMET tantalum
chips, these series are 100% screened for all electrical
parameters: Capacitance @ 120 Hz, Dissipation Factor
(DF) @ 120 Hz, ESR @ 100 kHZ and DC Leakage. It is
also 100% surge current tested at full rated voltage
through a low impedance circuit. The advantages of the
polymer include very low ESR and elimination of the
potentially catastrophic failure mode that may occur with
standard tantalum capacitors in a high surge current
application. Although the natural KO-CAP series failure
mechanism is a short circuit, it does not exhibit an explo-
sive failure mode.
• 2V-16V DC Rated Voltage
This is the maximum peak DC operating voltage
from -55ºC to +85ºC for continuous duty. Above
85ºC, this voltage is derated linearly to 0.8 times
the rated voltage for operation at 105ºC.
• Surge Voltage Ratings
Surge voltage is the maximum voltage to which the
part can be subjected under transient conditions
including the sum of peak AC ripple, DC bias and
any transients. Surge voltage capability is demon-
strated by application of 1000 cycles of the relevant
voltage, at 25ºC, 85ºC or 105ºC. The parts are
charged through a 33 ohm resistor for 30 seconds
and then discharged through a 33 ohm resistor for
30 seconds for each cycle.
• Voltage Ratings • Table 1
Rated
Surge
Voltage
Derated
Voltage
Derated
Surge
Voltage
Voltage
-55ºC to +85ºC
+105ºC
ELECTRICAL
2V
2.5V
2.6V
3.3V
1.6V
2.0V
2.4V
3.3V
5V
6.4V
8V
12.8V
2.1V
2.8V
1. Operating Temperature Range
• -55ºC to +105ºC
3V
4V
6.3V
8V
3.9V
5.2V
8V
10.4V
13V
3.1V
4.3V
6.5V
8.7V
10.4V
Above 85ºC, the voltage rating is reduced linearly
from 1.0 x rated voltage to 0.8 x rated voltage at
105ºC.
10V
2. Non-Operating Temperature Range
16V
20.8V
16.6V
• -55ºC to +105ºC
5. Reverse Voltage Rating & Polarity
Polymer tantalum capacitors are polar devices and
may be permanently damaged or destroyed if con-
nected in the wrong polarity. The positive terminal
is identified by a laser-marked stripe and may also
include a beveled edge. These capacitors will with-
stand a small degree of transient voltage reversal
for short periods as shown in the following table.
Please note that these parts may not be operated
continuously in reverse, even within these limits.
3. Capacitance and Tolerance
• 33µF to 1500µF
• ±20% Tolerance
Capacitance is measured at 120 Hz, up to 1.0 volt rms
maximum and up to 2.5V DC maximum. DC bias caus-
es only a small reduction in capacitance, up to about
2% when full rated voltage is applied. DC bias is not
commonly used for room temperature measurements
but is more commonly used when measuring at tem-
perature extremes.
Table 2
Temperature
25ºC
Permissible Transient Reverse Voltage
Capacitance does decrease with increasing frequency,
but not nearly as much or as quickly as standard tanta-
lums. Figure 1 compares the frequency induced cap roll-
off between the KO-CAP and traditional MnO2 types.
Capacitance also increases with increasing tempera-
ture. See s ection 12 for temperature coefficients .
15% of Rated Voltage
10% of Rated Voltage
5% of Rated Voltage
3% of Rated Voltage
55ºC
85ºC
105ºC
6. DC Leakage Current
Because of the high conductivity of the polymer,
the KO-CAP family has higher leakage currents
than traditional MnO2 type Tantalum caps. The DC
Leakage limits at 25ºC are calculated as 0.1 x C x
V, where C is cap in µF and V is rated voltage in
Volts. Limits for all part numbers are listed in the
ratings tables.
Capacitance (uF)
150
100
Polymer
MnO2
50
DC Le a ka ge c urre nt is the c urre nt tha t flows
through the capacitor dielectric after a five minute
charging period at rated voltage. Leakage is mea-
sured at 25ºC with full rated voltage applied to the
capacitor through a 1000 ohm resistor in series
with the capacitor.
0
10
1,000
100,000
10,000,000
1,000,000 100,000,000
100
10,000
Frequency (Hz)
FIGURE 1
KEMET Electronics Corporation, P.O. Box 5928, Greenville, S.C. 29606, (864) 963-6300
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