Failure Mode Comparison of Tantalum and Niobium Oxide Capacitors
Written By: George Zhang
Abstract:
The automotive industry has become highly dependent on advanced sensing and computing. Starting in the mid-twentieth century, the development of dense, reliable, and stable capacitors has been instrumental in advancing high speed computing and high performance electronics. The demands on these capacitors have increased substantially, requiring high-temperature tolerance, harsh environmental reliability, and ever-decreasing parasitic parameters such as equivalent series resistance (ESR) and inductance (ESL).
Tantalum and niobium oxide capacitors have been two of the most notable contenders to meet these requirements. Though similar in construction, their failure modes are nuanced and require a careful understanding to ensure a successful design for a particular application.
The automotive industry has become highly dependent on advanced sensing and computing. Starting in the mid-twentieth century, the development of dense, reliable, and stable capacitors has been instrumental in advancing high speed computing and high performance electronics. The demands on these capacitors have increased substantially, requiring high-temperature tolerance, harsh environmental reliability, and ever-decreasing parasitic parameters such as equivalent series resistance (ESR) and inductance (ESL).
Tantalum and niobium oxide capacitors have been two of the most notable contenders to meet these requirements. Though similar in construction, their failure modes are nuanced and require a careful understanding to ensure a successful design for a particular application.
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