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Components tap WLAN chip sets (excerpt)
By Gina Roos / EE Times / September 4, 2003 

Driven by suppliers of wireless-LAN chip sets, passive-component manufacturers are developing innovative devices and technologies to meet the requirements for high-performance characteristics such as quality, or "Q," factor, equivalent-series resistance (ESR) and small packaging in the WLAN.

Next-generation components for WLAN applications will most likely come in the form of antennas, integrated passive devices and module designs, many of them based on low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology for high performance and small size.

In many cases, passive-component suppliers are already ramping up production on low-pass and bandpass filters for WLAN applications that feature surface-mount packaging, low profiles and light weight.

NIC Components' answer to a host of wireless applications is its wide range of low-ESR and high-Q NPO ceramic chip capacitors. Designed for high-speed, high-frequency applications such as Bluetooth and WLAN products, the NMC-L and NMC-M chip capacitors are available in a capacitance range of 0.5 to 150 pF.

NIC Components Corp.
www.niccomp.com  |  www.RFpassives.com  |  www.lowESR.com
 

Plastic fantastic (excerpt)
By Chris Edwards / EE Times, 3 April 2002 

In power supplies, output filter capacitors are bearing the brunt of the problems caused by the rapid increase in processor frequencies. In PCs, speeds are already past 1GHz, and embedded processors for high-end comms systems are seeing similar speeds.

Add to that the gradual lowering of supply voltages and increase in current, and you have the situation where the types of capacitor used in output filters need to go through some major changes.

It is not all bad news, as the moves seem to be in the direction of technologies that should prove to be more reliable over time.

Basically, wet electrolytic capacitors have a definite shelf life and dry tantalums can catch fire when driven too hard. Temperature is generally a weak spot for wet electrolytics, but that has not stopped some suppliers from using better seals in their designs.

But the main trend for many capacitor makers is towards various forms of polymer capacitor. The wet electrolyte in aluminium capacitors or the manganese oxide gets replaced by a polymer compound. Many of the capacitor suppliers have followed suit with aluminium and tantalum-based products. The polymer in these capacitors is generally selected for its ability to heal against short-circuit defects in the capacitor and reductions in equivalent series resistance (ESR).

The lower ESR often means that smaller capacitors can be used to smooth out the current in power supplies as ESR is more important, because of the heat dissipated through resistance, than the actual capacitance.

High leakage current can be an issue in many metal-polymer capacitors but is not generally a big problem in power supplies. As most electrolytics are used to smooth out large current pulses, a lower ESR can mean designers end up using smaller capacitors because less energy will be lost as heat.

As well as Sanyo, Kemet and Cornell-Dubilier,
NIC Components, Nichicon, Panasonic and Tokin — the latter following its purchase of NEC's passives operation — have devised aluminium-polymer capacitors. Kemet's AO-CAP is designed to mimic an SM ceramic capacitor rather than an axial aluminium capacitor, and takes ESR down to below 20mohm, for a sub-150µF device working at 4V. OS-CONs typically have ESRs of around 40mohm in similar sizes. Epcos, Kemet and Nichicon have used similar polymers to replace the manganese oxide in 'dry' tantalum electrolytics to reduce ESR. [ SOLID ELECTROLYTE - POLYMER ALUMINUM E-CAPS ]

The plan for larger capacitors is to reduce the number that have to be used in parallel in low-voltage power supplies that need to deal with high currents, such as the regulators needed for Pentium 4s.

 


 
Impedance cuts for low voltages and high speeds
EE Times, 9 March 2002

Manufacturers are taking aim at high-frequency impedance and equivalent series resistance with some of their latest electrolytic offerings.

  NIC Components Europe NRSJ series of radial-leaded aluminum electrolytic capacitors offer equivalent series resistance down to 0.013½. The capacitors have been designed for lower voltage, high-current circuit designs.

Available with capacitance values ranging from 100 to 2700µF and voltages of between 6.3 and 50V DC, the range is suited to applications in power supplies, DC/DC converters and switchers. They have a ripple current rating of up to 2.55A rms at 105°C and 100kHz.
www.niccomp.com  or www.lowESR.com
 



Solid-aluminum caps aim at output-filter circuits
EE Times - February 7, 2002 

Melville, N.Y. -   NIC Components Corp. has an improved version of its NSP solid-aluminum-electrolytic capacitors. The line targets output-filter circuits for low-voltage and high-current dc/dc converters, switching power supplies and voltage regulators.

The surface-mount , specialty-polymer solid-electrolyte caps feature ultra-low equivalent series resistance (ESR) and high ripple current ratings at high frequency. New are an expanded capacitance range and improvements in ESR and ripple-current ratings.
The new capacitance range is from 2.2 micro-farad to 390 micro-farad with voltage ratings from 2 volts dc to 16 V dc. The 100-kHz ESR specs have been reduced to 0.012 ohm, and the ripple current ratings have been increased to 3,000 milliamps rms (100 kHz, +105 degrees C).

The parts, in a standard D case, run at 55 cents to $2.20 each in production quantities. Lead time is six to 10 weeks.
www.niccomp.com  or www.lowESR.com
 

Solid Al caps tout low ESR

EE Times (10/19/01, 10:00 a.m. EST) 

Melville, N.Y. - NIC Components is shipping its NSPZ series of surface-mount solid-polymer aluminum electro-lytic capacitors. The caps are said to offer ultra-low ESR and impedance as low as 0.025 ohm, with ripple current ratings up to 2.5 Arms.

Capacitance values range from 15 microfarads to 680 microfarads (+/- 20 percent capacitance tolerance). Voltage ratings range from 4 to 25 volts dc. Case sizes (DxL) include 6.3 mm2, 8 x 7 mm and 10 x 8 mm. 

The caps are rated for operation from -55 degrees C to 105 degrees C and are compatible with reflow-soldering processes. They are supplied on tape and reel for use with automated pick-and-place assembly systems. 

Pricing is $0.77 to $1.05 each in production quantities. Lead time is eight to 10 weeks. 

 www.niccomp.com  or www.lowESR.com
 


Small inductors aim at wireless

EE Times (06/20/00, 1:55 p.m. EST) 

MELVILLE, N.Y. — The NML series of multilayer chip inductors in 0402 and 0603 packages from NIC Components Corp. are said to feature high Q (greater than 50 at 1 GHz; less than 27 nano-henries) for high-frequency wireless communication applications.

The small package size suits the inductors for handheld applications and very dense circuit designs, the company said. Inductance values range from 1 to 56 nH (0402) and 1.5 to 220 nH (0603) in plus/minus 0.5-nH, plus/minus 5 and plus/minus 10 percent tolerances. Operating temperature range is -40 degrees C to 85 degrees C.
The inductors are supplied on paper tape compatible with automated pick-and-place machinery and reflow soldering. Pricing is 6 cents to 8 cents each in production volumes, with delivery in six to 10 weeks.

www.niccomp.com  |  www.RFpassives.com

 
     

 

 

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