AVX multilayer ceramic capacitor arrays improve system performance while reducing circuit size and cost

GREENVILLE, USA: AVX Corp., a leading manufacturer of passive components and interconnect solutions, has developed advanced capacitor arrays designed to shrink the circuit foot print, enhance EMI performance and improve overall manufacturing speed.

AVX’s wide range of multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) arrays include two-element arrays in 0405 and 0508 packages and four-element arrays in 0508 and 0612 packages with capacitance values ranging from 1pf to 2.2uf and voltages of 6.3V to 100V.

“AVX offers the widest selection of MLCC capacitors in the industry. AVX’s capacitor arrays are increasingly being chosen by designers to reduce circuit size and cost, while improving system level performance,” said Tim Piver, product manager at AVX.

“For example, when crystals are cut their frequency is specified by the manufacturer with a certain load capacitance. End users must add, or load that capacitance to their circuit to insure similar frequency characteristics. AVX’s miniature 0405 capacitor arrays are ideal for loading crystals. The circuit’s size and assembly time is minimized. The dual capacitors within the same package experience similar aging, noise, temperature effects and voltage coefficients.”

AVX’s MLCC arrays have also recently been used in switched capacitor voltage doubling inverter designs to reduce the footprint and provide significant performance enhancements, including improved EMI emissions and manufacturing speed, versus inductor based circuits. The CMOS based circuits have an added advantage of very low operating current (~150uA) and an operating efficiency greater than 90% with most loads.

The switched capacitor voltage doubling inverters are available in SO8 and miniature SO8 packages and a completed circuit would require the IC and three periphery capacitors. AVX capacitor arrays dramatically reduce the size of the periphery capacitors in a voltage doubler. The most common applications of this circuit are LCD contrast biasing, GaAs power amplifiers, interface power supplies, PDA / notebooks and hand held electronics.

Pricing for the multilayer ceramic capacitor arrays are set at competitive market levels with a lead time of stock to 14 weeks.