1. Film Capacitors

2. Ken Thompson Product Manager
DC Film Capacitors
Ken Thompson
Product Manager

3. 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

4. Applications for Capacitors

5. Applications for Capacitors

6. Dielectrics

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

8. 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.

9. 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,

10. 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.

11. 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

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

13. 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)

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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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
Vdc , Vac
Capacitance Range
µF µF

20. 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

21. 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

22. Focus Product
CDE Type DME - miniature radial dipped metallized polyester
0.01 mF mF
100 Vdc Vdc

23. 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

24. Power Film Capacitors

25. Power Film Capacitors
Discrete Component Solutions

26. 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

27. 940 & 941 Styles Construction: double metallized
Capacitance range: mF
Voltage range: ,000 Vdc ( Vac)
dV/dt : ,000 V/ms

28. 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

29. 942 & 943 Styles Construction: foil/metallized hybrid
Capacitance range: mF
Voltage range: ,000 Vdc
( Vac)
dV/dt: ,000 V/ms

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

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

32. 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

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

34. 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

35. 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

36. Safety Capacitors X2 & Y2/X2
CDE Type MEXY

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

38. 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

39. MEXY Safety Capacitors
Agency definitions

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

41. Discrete component or... packaged snubber solutions?

42. IGBT Snubber Modules
Packaged
Solutions

43. SCD
5.002
SCM
5.004
SCM
5.004
SCC
5.006

44. 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

45. 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.

46. 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

47. IGBT Manufacturers
Toshiba
Powerex (Mitsubishi)
Fuji
Semikron
IXYS

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

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

50. QuencharcR in action

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

52. ElectroFilm

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

54. 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

55. ElectroFilm
ElectroFilm catalog offering

56. 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.

57. 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

58. ElectroFilm
Competitors

59. 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