Upgrade for Safety and PCB Space: Replacing Manganese Dioxide Tantalum Capacitors with POSCAP™
Published on- Capacitors
The article provides an in-depth comparison between Polymer Tantalum Capacitors and Manganese Tantalum Capacitors, highlighting the advantages of Polymer Tantalum Capacitors, particularly POSCAP™, regarding safety, space-saving, and performance. It emphasizes the evolution of Polymer Tantalum Capacitor technology, forecasting its dominance by 2026 and its widespread application in various industries such as computing, communications infrastructure, and industrial settings. Factors such as reduced footprint, lower ESR, and enhanced safety features are emphasized, making POSCAP™ a favorable choice for applications requiring safety, high performance, and reliability.
The Future of Capacitor Technology and Its Implications Across Industries
Polymer Tantalum capacitors should be used when an application has space constraints and safety is a consideration. Consider these key factors when choosing which type of Tantalum Capacitor to use. While Manganese Tantalum Capacitors have historically been designed for military applications, Polymer Tantalum Capacitor technology has evolved to surpass Manganese Tantalum Capacitors in terms of safety and a reduced footprint. These improvements result in Polymer Tantalum Capacitors being forecasted to be the dominant technology/majority share of the Tantalum Capacitors global dollar value by 2026, with the electrification of vehicles contributing to some of this growth.
POSCAP™ is available in a variety of series, including B and D case sizes
Manganese Tantalum Capacitors contain oxygen, making them much more likely to ignite in over-voltage conditions than Polymer Tantalums. Panasonic’s POSCAP™ Polymer Tantalum Capacitors' material makeup inhibits ignition, even in high over-voltage situations. POSCAP™ Polymer Tantalum Capacitors contribute to system safety even in a smaller space. Without oxygen, there is less likelihood of flame ignition. With its lower Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), engineers can reduce the capacitors needed, resulting in space, component, and assembly cost reductions.
Conductive Polymers-insulating effects and and molecular structure
Conductive Polymers have an insulating effect. They react to heat generated by the dielectric and locally insulate, cutting off current.
The molecular structure of Conductive Polymers does not contain oxygen, making the material difficult to ignite.
Derating and ripple voltage
POSCAP™ reduces the number of capacitors required compared to Manganese Tantalum Capacitors due to their low ESR. When it comes to derating, Polymer Tantalum only needs a 20% voltage derating compared to 50% for Manganese, resulting in a smaller PCB mounting area and fewer devices. With POSCAP™, you get a reduction in PCB mounting area while still maintaining high volumetric efficiency for capacitance.
Derating: Compared to Manganese, Polymer Tantalum requires only a 20% Voltage derating.
Smaller PCB mounting area: POSCAP™ reduces PCB mounting area without sacrificing performance. (See ripple results above).
Polymer Tantalum Capacitors are ideal for a variety of applications.
Computers of all kinds, including servers, desktops, notebooks, and tablets, largely use Polymer-type Tantalum Capacitors for their low ESR. Polymer Tantalum Capacitors, particularly POSCAP™, are also used in computing and communications infrastructure applications such as data centers, servers, base stations, network switches, and routers. There are many Industrial applications for POSCAPs, including Test & Measurement and Factory Automation. Navigation and LCD panels are other devices that typically use Polymer Tantalum Capacitors. In general, POSCAP™ products are particularly well-suited for use in embedded computing boards and power systems supplying components like CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and ASICs. As computing technology continues to expand, so do the uses of polymer tantalum capacitors.
Summary
Replacing Manganese Dioxide Tantalum Capacitors with Polymer Tantalum Capacitors, specifically POSCAP, offers enhanced safety and space savings. The absence of oxygen in Polymer Tantalum Capacitors reduces the risk of ignition in over-voltage conditions, and the smaller footprint and lower ESR result in space and cost savings. This makes POSCAPs a great choice for applications requiring safety, high performance, and reliability.
For more information, please visit: POSCAP™ Tantalum-Polymer Capacitors | Panasonic Industrial Devices
