Innovative "Flex Term" Prevents Internal Cracking in Ceramic Capacitors

San Diego, CA, July 11, 2016…Tecate Group today announced its latest capacitor advancement, flexible termination capabilities for ceramic capacitors to solve the issue of internal cracking. Internal cracking can result in failure modes for multilayer ceramic capacitors. Cracking can be induced at various points in the surface-mount process, from pick and place to soldering to handling of the boards after assembly. To minimize these effects, Tecate has developed flexible termination capabilities ("Flex Term"), which incorporate a polymer layer in the termination structure. This construction effectively reduces the incidence of cracking as it absorbs the mechanical and thermal stresses often present in capacitors' SMD processes.

While standard terminations show inception of failure on thermal shock tests after only 500 cycles, the flexible termination structures improve reliability to over 3,000 cycles. Tecate's Flex Term also increases the bending capability of the capacitors from 2mm to 5mm. These flexible termination structures are offered in sizes ranging from 0805 to 2225 and can be indicated on the labeling with an "F" suffix between the packaging indicator ("T") and the RoHS-compliance indicator ("F") (for example, CMC-5K0/102KX2220TFF).

Tecate's Flex Term is offered for CMC, CMCHV, and CMX series ceramic capacitors. For more information and to take advantage of Tecate's unique and extensive flexible termination capabilities, visit http://www.tecategroup.com.