OREANDA-NEWS. April 28, 2012. TDK Corporation has expanded its portfolio of TDK X8R multilayer ceramic chip capacitors with new types that offer up to twice the capacitance of existing components with the same dimensions. At the same time, they are able to withstand the high operating temperatures encountered in car engine compartments. These advances were made possible by the development of a new dielectric material that maintains excellent reliability and thermal characteristics even in extreme environments. The new X8R MLCCs are available for rated voltages of 16, 25, 50 V DC and cover a capacitance range of between 10 nF and 10 µF. They are available in case sizes of between 1005 and 3225, depending on their voltage and capacitance values. Mass production of types in case sizes 3225 (16 V, 10 µF max.) and 3216 (25 V, 2.2 µF max. and 50 V, 1 µF max.) started in April 2012.

As more and more electronics systems have to fit into the limited space of a car, miniaturization remains one of the mega trends driving automotive electronics. Responding to the market needs, TDK has harnessed its extensive knowledge in both materials and multilayer technologies to develop MLCCs that maintain the required reliability while offering higher capacitance ratings in ever smaller form factors. The new X8R MLCCs feature a temperature range from -55 to +150 °C with a maximum capacitance drift of ±15 percent, a key requirement for applications in the engine compartments of cars. They also offer outstanding smoothing circuit performance, for example, in switch-mode power supplies required by industrial equipment. In all cases, customers will benefit from components that can both save space and reduce the parts count.