Film Capacitors

Ken Thompson Product Manager DC Film Capacitors Ken Thompson Product Manager

What is a capacitor? A capacitor is a storage tank for electrical energy How does a capacitor function in a circuit? It blocks DC current It regulates AC current

Applications for Capacitors

Applications for Capacitors

Dielectrics

Film Capacitors Polyester (PET) 125 °C Polypropylene (PP) 105 °C Plain and Metallized Polypropylene (PP) 105 °C

Polyester (PET) Operates at 125 °C with voltage derated above 85 °C Sometimes referred to as mylar Most cost effective Small size Primarily used in dc applications Polyester is the most popular of the films dielectric. It is reliable, has the highest dielectric constant (3.1) which means small size and is economical = lowest cost. Polyester has some disadvantages; high dissipation factor at high temperature, power dissipation at high frequency prevents its’ use for high r.m.s. current or high frequency application. Also, polyester is not recommended for tight tolerance applications (< ± 5%). Ideally suited for dc applications (coupling, de-coupling and by-passing). Can be used for ac applications provided you are attentive to power dissipation at higher temperatures and do not operate in corona.

Polypropylene (PP/MPP) Operates at 105 °C with voltage derated above 85 °C Low dissipation factor (DF) Great for ac applications High current High pulse High voltage Polypropylene is the most versatile of the film dielectrics. Its’ features include low dissipation factor, Very low dielectric absorption, high insulation resistance and can tolerate corona. Its’ disadvantages are that it has a relatively low dielectric constant (2.3) and thin gauges for low voltage applications is relatively expensive. Another disadvantage but only a slight one is that its’ maximum operating temperature is limited to 105 degrees C. Applications: DC applications with high ripple currents, high voltage AC, and high frequency,

Film Construction Film/foil: comprised of two layers of metal foil and two layers of polyester or polypropylene dielectric material. Best choice for high current and high voltage applications. Metallized: foil layers are replaced by very thin layers of metallic film which has been vapor deposited directly on the dielectric material. Significant advantage over film/foil construction is self healing feature of metallized designs and size reduction.

US Leaded Film Capacitors Estimated U.S. Product Mix US Leaded Film Capacitors Estimated Axial 37% Radial ($000) Distribution: $34 OEM: $54 Total: $88 Axial ($000) Distribution: $4 OEM: $16 Total: $20 $27 SMT & other not included

Foreign Competitors Panasonic Nissei - Arcotronics Vishay - Roederstein EPCOS - Siemens WIMA/Rifa Others in Taiwan & China

Foreign Competitors STRENGTHS Commodity low cost “me too product” Plastic box and dipped Have all the safety agency approvals Sell to OEM and through distribution First approval status not as important (price/stock often deciding factor)

Foreign Competitors WEAKNESSES (CDE’s perspective) High minimum quantities Little flexibility Not interested in customs or specials Weak technical support

U.S. Competitors Thirty or more manufacturing in USA Combined sales $55 million None have sales exceeding $5-7 million Many are in $2-3 million range

U.S. Competitors Electronic Concepts, NJ American Suzuki, NE EFC, CT ITW Paktron, VA **Illinois Capacitor, IL Dearborn Elect., FL American Cap. Corp., CA Electrocube, CA Bishop Elect., CA SB Elect., VT IMB, CA BYCAP, IL Aerovox, MA **Seacor, NJ **Importers

U.S. Competitors Strengths: Manufacture in the USA Custom hermetically sealed/military approved films Some still able to supply polycarbonate films until supplies run out Accept low volume business with high A.S.P. Flexible

U.S. Competitors WEAKNESSES High manufacturing costs High ASP parts are targets for price reduction or design out First source approval is critical Custom parts are not good for distribution

CDE Film Line Up Dielectrics Construction Film/foil and metallized Polyester and Polypropylene Construction Film/foil and metallized Case Styles Axial wrap and fill Radial dipped Plastic box Voltage Range 50 - 3000 Vdc , 125 - 750 Vac Capacitance Range .00047 µF - 130.0 µF

Polypropylene (PP/MPP) Preferred for power conversion Moderate cost per microfarad vs. polyester Stable capacitance vs. temperature Excellent pulse handling capabilities and high frequency stability High dielectric breakdown strength Operates to 105°C when voltage derated above 85 °C

CDE Film Capacitors CDE has 40 film capacitor product lines “Capacitor Applications Charts” are available on the CDE web site “Focus Products” will receive our attention today

Focus Product CDE Type DME - miniature radial dipped metallized polyester 0.01 mF - 10.0 mF 100 Vdc - 1000 Vdc

Focus Products DME series - Small size Over a million dollar$ in sales Most popular series sold through distribution All ratings in stock Direct cross to competitors series

Power Film Capacitors

Power Film Capacitors Discrete Component Solutions

Focus Products Top Runners 940, 942 Designed specifically for snubber and high pulse (dV/dt) applications Very competitively priced All ratings in stock Growth product lines

940 & 941 Styles Construction: double metallized Capacitance range: 0.01 - 4.7 mF Voltage range: 600 - 3,000 Vdc (275 - 750 Vac) dV/dt : 100 - 2,000 V/ms

Power Film Capacitors Axial Leaded - Polypropylene Style 940C High dV/dt - Round Style 941C High dV/dt - Oval Style 942C Very High dV/dt - Round Style 943C Very High dV/dt - Oval

942 & 943 Styles Construction: foil/metallized hybrid Capacitance range: 0.01 - 2.5 mF Voltage range: 600 - 2,000 Vdc (375 - 630 Vac) dV/dt: 600 - 5,000 V/ms

Typical Comparison of 940 Series Hybrid is more robust Double metallized has size/cost advantage Double metallized is the sales leader

CapstickR CDE Type CS 1.0mF 400Vdc to 10.0mF 100Vdc Multiple pins on .10” centers Conformal coated

CapstickR Type CS Ultra-low ESR/ESL Resilient under thermal shock - does not crack Stable over termperature and under AC/DC voltage Makes X7R ceramic look like a whimp Great for DC/DC converters

Markets Served for 940 Series and CS Telecommunications Wireless/DSL Industrial controls Power conversion Instrumentation Audio/strobe

What CDE Has to Offer Large selection of radial and axial, polyester and polypropylene film capacitors Engineering technology and cost necessary to capture business. 50% of CDE film sales is already customs, specials and value add parts

Capacitors To Avoid Military approved caps. Hermetically sealed caps. Molded film caps. Polycarbonate caps Might switch to polypropylene if not above 105 °C and no size constraint

Safety Capacitors X2 & Y2/X2 CDE Type MEXY

Type MEXY Class X2 & Y2/X2 interference suppression film capacitors 0.001 mF - 2.2mF 250 Vac & 275 Vac Safety Agency Approvals: UL, CSA, VDE (IEC - 384)

MEXY Features Smallest case sizes available Very competitive pricing Availability from stock You can use a Y2 in place of an X2 but you can’t do the reverse

MEXY Safety Capacitors Agency definitions

MEXY Competitors Vishay Wima Epcos Okaya Panasonic Illinois Capacitor Evox/Rifa Arcotronics

Discrete component or... packaged snubber solutions?

IGBT Snubber Modules Packaged Solutions

SCD 5.002 SCM 5.004 SCM 5.004 SCC 5.006

IGBT Snubber Module Features Direct mount to the IGBT Very low inductance High r.m.s. current capability Diodes are hyperfast with soft recovery characteristics UL 94V-0 flame retardant package N Type - diode is before the capacitor and P Type is the opposite

A value added solution Provides lower inductance than what a customer can achieve using discrete components. Easy mechanical connection Cost is competitive with building a discrete component snubber. Its’ an off-the-shelf solution.

Where to sell? Motor drives and controls UPS systems High powered power supplies Medical imaging Electric welding Electric vehicles Elevators Battery chargers X-ray imaging

IGBT Manufacturers Toshiba Powerex (Mitsubishi) Fuji Semikron IXYS

Competitors Aerovox/Parallax Electrocube Electronic Concepts G.E. Illinois Capacitor And other film capacitor suppliers.

QuencharcR Type Q Contact arc and noise suppression Snubber network - capacitor and resistor in series

QuencharcR in action

QuencharcR Applications Tag along item with Switches Relays Thyristors Triacs Controllers and drives Excellent distributor item

ElectroFilm

ElectroFilm Capacitors Types UPP, UPE and UNL UPP & UPE UNL

ElectroFilm Type Designations: UNL – Snap-in Capacitor, Metallized Polypropylene with lug terminals UPP – Screw Terminal, Metallized Polypropylene UPE – Screw Terminal, Metallized Polyester Polyester is 20% more efficient than polypropylene in size Lower cost per mF A good alternative to polypropylene for DC applications Polyester is not as friendly to AC applications as polypropylene

ElectroFilm ElectroFilm catalog offering

ElectroFilm Used for buss filtering in converters and inverters Can replaces aluminum electrolytics in high voltage buss systems Significantly reduces capacitance value needed for electrolytics Offers very long life and high reliability.

ElectroFilm Benefits vs aluminum electrolytics 10 plus years shelf life 10 times more ripple current capability 20 times greater life expectancy 65% fewer capacitors typically needed 500 times lower ESR No dry out failure mechanism Self healing

ElectroFilm Competitors

ElectroFilm Major Competitors: Electronic Concepts Dearborn “UnLytic” Type UP36, Snap-in case style “Unlytic” Type UL30, Screw terminal style Dearborn FilmLytic 781P Series – Screw terminal style