
KEMET Electronics Corporation, P.O. Box 5928, Greenville, S.C. 29606, (864) 963-6300
Introduction
KEMET has developed a new type of tantalum capacitor that
replaces the solid manganese dioxide electrode with a solid
conductive polymer. This product is named the KO-CAP for
K
EMET
O
rganic
Cap
acitor. The basic families are the T520,
T525 and T530 series. A separate detail of performance char-
acteristics is presented here as there are some differences
between the polymer tantalums and the standard
MnO2
types. Like all KEMET tantalum chips, these series are 100%
screened for all electrical parameters: Capacitance @ 120 Hz,
Dissipation Factor (DF) @ 120 Hz, ESR @ 100 kHZ and DC
Leakage. It is also 100% surge current tested at full rated volt-
age through a low impedance circuit. The advantages of the
polymer include very low ESR and elimination of the potential-
ly catastrophic failure mode that may occur with standard tan-
talum capacitors in a high current application. Although the
natural KO-CAP series failure mechanism is a short circuit, it
does not exhibit an explosive failure mode.
ELECTRICAL
1. Operating Temperature Range
-55oC to +105oC for T520; -55oC to +125oC for
T525 and T530
For T525 and T530 Series above 105oC, the
voltage rating is reduced linearly from 1.0 x rated volt-
age to 0.8 x rated voltage at 125oC.
2. Non-Operating Temperature Range
-55oC to +105oC for T520
-55oC to +125oC for T525 and T530
3. Capacitance and Tolerance
15μF to 1500μF
±20% Tolerance
Capacitance is measured at 120 Hz, up to 1.0 volt rms
maximum and up to 2.5V DC maximum. DC bias causes
only a small reduction in capacitance, up to about 2%
when full rated voltage is applied. DC bias is not common-
ly used for room temperature measurements but is more
commonly used when measuring at temperature extremes.
Capacitance does decrease with increasing frequency, but
not nearly as much or as quickly as standard tantalums.
Figure 1 compares the frequency induced cap roll-off
between the KO-CAP and traditional MnO2 types.
Capacitance also increases with increasing temperature.
See section 12 for temperature coefficients.
4. Voltage Ratings
2V-25V DC Rated Voltage
This is the maximum peak DC operating voltage from
-55oC to +105oC for continuous duty. Above 105oC, this
voltage is derated linearly to 2/3 the rated voltage for
operation at 125oC for T525 and T530 Series.
Surge Voltage Ratings
Surge voltage capability is demonstrated by applica-
tion of 1000 cycles of the relevant voltage, at 25oC,
85oC or 105oC. The parts are charged through a 33
ohm resistor for 30 seconds and then discharged
through a 33 ohm resistor for 30 seconds for each
cycle.
Surge voltage is the maximum voltage to which
the part can be subjected under transient cents.
Voltage Ratings Table 1
Rated
Surge
Voltage
Voltage
Derated
Voltage
Derated
Surge
Voltage
-55oC to +105oC
2V
2.5V
3V
4V
6.3V
8V
10V
16V
25V
5. Reverse Voltage Rating & Polarity
Polymer capacitors are polar devices and may be per-
manently damaged or destroyed if connected in the
wrong polarity. The positive terminal is identified by a
laser-marked stripe and may also include a beveled
edge. These capacitors will withstand a small degree
of transient voltage reversal for short periods as
shown in the following table. Please note that these
parts may not be operated continuously in reverse,
even within these limits.
Table 2
Temperature
Permissible Transient Reverse Voltage
25oC
15% of Rated Voltage
55oC
10% of Rated Voltage
85oC
5% of Rated Voltage
85oC
5% of Rated Voltage
105oC
3% of Rated Voltage
125oC
1% of Rated Voltage
6. DC Leakage Current
Because of the high conductivity of the polymer, the
KO-CAP family has higher leakage currents than tradi-
tional MnO2 type Tantalum caps. The DC Leakage
limits at 25oC are calculated as 0.1 x C x V, where C is
cap in μF and V is rated voltage in Volts. Limits for all
part numbers are listed in the ratings tables.
+125oC
2.6V
3.3V
3.9V
5.2V
8.2V
10.4V
13V
20.8V
32.5V
1.6V
2.0V
2.4V
3.2V
5V
6.4V
8V
12.8V
20V
2.1V
2.6V
3.1V
4.2V
6.5V
8.3V
10.4V
16.6V
26V
DC Leakage current is the current that flows through
the capacitor dielectric after a five minute charging
period at rated voltage. Leakage is measured at 25oC
with full rated voltage applied to the capacitor through
a 1000 ohm resistor in series with the capacitor.
COMPONENT PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS
10
100
1,000
10,000
Frequency (Hz)
100,000
1,000,000
10,000,000
100,000,000
0
50
100
150
Capacitance (uF)
Polymer
MnO
2
FIGURE 1
CONDUCTIVE POLYMER CHIP CAPACITORS
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
-60
Operating Temperature— C
P
W
-40
-20
0
+20
+40
+60
+80 +100 +120 +140
43
C