Medical Design Briefs - December 2021 - 30

The Q factor represents the efficiency of a capacitor's
rate of energy loss. High Q capacitors lose less energy
reducing the need to dissipate or cool the heat which protects
the board from damage and performance loss in sensitive
and high liability applications. Not all MLCCs are
created equal, even among the high performance MLCCs,
yet ensuring a consistent level of performance is critical
for the high reliability applications.
" If an MLCC manufacturer is not tightly controlling the
layer count, they might be providing 10-layer batches in
one batch and then later deliver 17-layer parts in a subsequent
batch, " explains Horton. " These two parts will not
perform the same at high frequencies. "
■ Domestic Supply Ramping Up
Domestic sources of MLCCs needed in medical devices
have been ramping up their capacity. Increased domestic
MLCC supply means a customer will not need to delay
the build and shipments of their products because of a
capacitor delay.
Drawing upon its focus on high-Q and high-voltage
MLCCs, Johanson, for example, has expanded its capacity
to fill some of the supply void caused by the shift in market
focus to smaller capacitors.
" We've been investing in expanding our capacity for several
years now through a modernization of our production facility
and the opening of a second production line that will essentially
double our MLCC output, " says Horton. " We can take
that even higher with more production shifts. "
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP
U.S. Postal Service Statement of Ownership (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) 1. Publication
Title: Medical Design Briefs 2. Publication Number: 004-865 3. Filing Date: 10/29/2021
4. Issue Frequency: Monthly 5. No. of Issues Published Annually: 12 6. Annual
Subscription Price: $100.00 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of
Publication (Street, City, County, State, and Zip+4) (Not printer): SAE Media Group,
261 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016 8. Complete Mailing Address of
Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher (Not printer): SAE International,
400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 9. Full Names and Complete
Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor. Publisher (Name and
Complete Mailing Address): Joseph T. Pramberger, 261 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1901, New
York, NY 10016; Editor (Name and Complete Mailing Address): Sherrie Trigg, 261 Fifth
Avenue, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016; Managing Editor: None 10. Owner (If the publication
is owned by a corporation, give the name and address of the corporation immediately
followed by the names and addresses of all stockholders owning or holding 1 percent
or more of the total amount of stock. If not owned by a corporation, give the names
and addresses of the individual owners. If owned by a partnership or other unincorporated
firm, give its name and address as well as those of each individual owner. If the
publication is published by a nonprofit organization, give its name and address). Full
Name and Complete Mailing Address: SAE International, 400 Commonwealth Drive,
Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security
Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages,
or Other Securities. Full Name and Complete Mailing Address: None 12. For
Completion of Nonprofit Organizations Authorized to Mail at Nonprofit Rates. The purpose,
function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal
income tax purposes: Not applicable 13. Publication Name: Medical Design Briefs
14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: December 2021 15. Extent and Nature of
Circulation (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months/Actual No.
Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date): a. Total No. Copies (Net Press
Run): 19,715/18,288 b (1) Outside Country Paid or Requested Mail Subscriptions on PS
Form 3541. 17,683/16,480 (2) In-County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions stated on
PS Form 3541. 0/0. (3) Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, and
Counter Sales (Not Mailed): 0/0 (4) Requested Copies Distributed by Other Mail
Classes Through the USPS 0/0 c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation (Sum of
15b(1), 15b(2), and 15b(3): 17,683/16,480 d. (1) Outside County Nonrequested Copies
Stated on PS Form 3541: 1,455/1,345 (2) In-County Nonrequested Copies Stated on PS
Form 3541 0/0 (3) Nonrequested Copies Distributed Through the USPS by Other
Classes of Mail: 0/0 (4) Nonrequested Copies Distributed Outside the Mail: 206/149 e.
Total Nonrequested Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), and (3)): 1,661/1,494 f. Total
Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e): 19,344/17,974 g. Copies Not Distributed: 371/314
h. TOTAL (Sum of 15f and 15g): 19,715/18,288 i. Percent Paid and/or Requested
Circulation (15c ÷ f times 100): 91.4%/91.7% 16. This Statement of Ownership will be
printed in the December 2021 issue of this publication. 17. I certify that all information
furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes
false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information
requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment)
and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties): Joseph T. Pramberger,
Publisher.
30
Cov
ToC
Increasing domestic high-voltage MLCC supply also means that customers do
not need to look beyond ceramic capacitors to satisfy their demand.
At the time of the preparation of this article, Johanson is
quoting large size high-voltage MLCC order fulfillment times
at 10 weeks.
■ Ceramic Is the Material of Choice
Increasing domestic high-voltage MLCC supply also means
that customers do not need to look beyond ceramic capacitors
to satisfy their demand. As a result of the long lead times,
replacing a MLCC with a polymer or tantalum capacitor may
be considered; however, trade-offs in performance and optimal
operating conditions need to be carefully considered.
Polymers in capacitors can be degraded by the effects of heat,
which is a consideration for some applications. The thinness of
the dielectric layer in polymer capacitors means the maximum
voltage is lower than in ceramic capacitors making it inappropriate
for high-voltage products. Polymers are also not available
in the low values of capacitance that ceramics provide.
A tantalum electrolytic capacitor consists of a pellet of
porous tantalum metal as an anode covered by an insulating
oxide layer that forms the dielectric surrounded by a liquid or
solid electrolyte as a cathode. While regarded as a reliable and
a suitable alternative to MLCCs, tantalum capacitors are generally
polarized which means they may only be connected to a
DC supply. An unfavorable failure mode may lead to thermal
runaway and fires. Tantalum capacitors are also currently experiencing
extended sourcing lead times.
" There's just no reason to move away from ceramic for your
high-voltage, high quality applications, " says Horton. " There is
now a growing domestic MLCC supply available to meet our
domestic needs. "
Shifts in supply and demand within the overall MLCC market,
which is estimated to grow to a $12 billion market by 2025,
have caused critical supply shortages for medical equipment
manufacturers that require a higher quality, larger format
multi-layer ceramic capacitor. As the largest MLCC manufacturers
continue to compete for the demand of the MLCCs
used by sectors like telecom, smart phones and mobile devices,
new domestic supply sources are stepping in to meet the need
for a reliable and timely supply of high performance MLCCs.
For more information, visit http://info.hotims.com/79420-367.
Medical Design Briefs, December 2021

http://info.hotims.com/79420-367

Medical Design Briefs - December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Medical Design Briefs - December 2021