Polymer COTS capacitors produce low ESR and improved capacitance retention

KEMET T543 Series Polymer COTS Capacitors, available from Mouser, are made of conductive organic polymer, replacing the traditionally used MnO2 as the cathode plate of the capacitor. This produces very low ESR, improved capacitance retention at high frequency and enhanced ripple current handling capability. The polymer technology also displays a benign failure mode which removes the potential for ignition failures. Polymers can also be run at voltages up to 90% of rated voltage for part types rated =10V and up to 80% for part types >10V with equivalent or better reliability than traditional MnO2 capacitors running at 50% of rated voltage. Applications for these capacitors include switch mode and point of load power supply, radar pulse capacitor and telecommunications (mobile phone and base station), and DC-DC converters. Other general applications comprise decoupling and filtering in applications requiring low ESR or a benign failure mode.