Three-terminal MLCC has industry-leading capacitance in compact 0402-inch package

Murata provides a new capacitor performance benchmark with the introduction of its NFM15HC435D0E3. This is the world’s first automotive-grade three-terminal MLCC to offer a capacitance of 4.3μF in a 0402-inch (1mm x 0.5mm) size. As a result, superior power decoupling and noise removal can be introduced to automobile designs in which high-performance processors are utilised, such as ADAS and autonomous driving functions.

By featuring a three-terminal arrangement, the device displays a significantly lower ESL than expected with two-terminal components. This means stable circuit operation can be supported while substantially reducing the mounting area required (with a footprint of just 1mm x 0.5 mm).

The company has used its proprietary thin layer forming technology and a high-precision lamination process to accomplish industry-leading capacitance. Improvements have been performed by atomising and equalising the constituent ceramic and electrode materials.

“The number of sensors and processors in vehicles continues to grow, boosted by the more widespread use of ADAS and migration towards higher levels of vehicle autonomy. This means that more MLCCs need to be fitted into designs,” states Takahiro Yoshida, senior nmanager of marketing department.2 of Murata. ”To support this ongoing trend, MLCCs with enhanced high-frequency characteristics and greater capacity, combined with minimal size, must be sourced. Through the NFM15HC435D0E3, Murata is achieving all these objectives, enabling reduced impedance in the high-frequency band via far fewer components.”