AVX'S FLEXISAFE Capacitor Minimizes Short-Circuit Failure In Ultra Safe Design

Myrtle Beach, SC - AVX Corporation has designed a ceramic capacitor that virtually eliminates the risk of short-circuit failure. Terminated with the award-winning FLEXITERM™ technology introduced last year, FLEXISAFE™ capacitors are designed to absorb shock and prevent internal cracking due to board flexure and temperature cycling damage. FLEXISAFE components are structured with a cascade electrode design that protects the ceramic capacitor from low insulation resistance failure that may result from thermal stress, repetitive strike ESD and placement damage.

FLEXISAFE capacitors are said to be ideal for new designs in military/aerospace COTS+ applications, automotive terminal 30 applications to replace two capacitors in series requirement, automotive terminal 15 applications to replace two capacitors requirement, and other safety-critical designs.

FLEXITERM technology is a soft termination system that allows almost three times the amount of board flexure when compared to standard termination systems. Further enhancing the capabilities of a standard MLCC, FLEXITERM was developed as an additional flexible termination layer added to the component to ensure electrical integrity is maintained when external forces are applied. This new high-conductivity termination material was added to the AVX standard X7R dielectric ceramic capacitor to prevent failures in the system due to cracking.

AVX offers a minimum flexure of up to 5mm, without internal cracks, versus the industry standard of 2mm. In addition, FLEXITERM can achieve 3000 temperature cycles as compared to the industry standard of just 1000 cycles.

FLEXITERM is designed so that the capacitors will not crack under most extreme environmental conditions. In the rare scenario where a board may flex beyond 5mm, FLEXITERM is designed so if there were to be a failure, it would be in the termination area and in open mode. This is especially important on power lines where failure could involve fire damage due to short circuit. With FLEXITERM, the open circuit occurs in a small area of the termination meaning little or no degradation to the capacitor's performance.

Parts are available in 0603 50V to 22nF, 0805 50V to 100nF, 1206 50V to 150nF, and 1210 50V to 470nF. Devices are lead-free and comply with commercial, AEC-Q200 and COTS+ requirements.

SOURCE: AVX Corporation