AVX has expanded its inter-digitated capacitor (IDC) product line to include miniature-sized RoHS-compliant versions.

Providing low ESL values of 35pH in a small footprint, the IDCs are designed to free up board space by reducing the number of capacitors required versus standard MLCCs.

An important physical characteristic in determining the equivalent series inductance (ESL) of a capacitor is the size of the current loop it creates. The smaller the current loop, the lower the ESL.

The device design shrinks the distance between terminations to minimise the current loop size, reducing inductance by creating adjacent opposing current loops.

“The equivalent series inductance (ESL) of a single capacitor or an array of capacitors in parallel determines the response time of a power delivery network (PDN),” said Tim Piver from AVX.

“The lower the ESL of a PDN, the faster the response time. A designer can use many standard MLCCs in parallel to reduce ESL or a single low ESL inter-digitated capacitor device,” said Piver.

The IDCs have a footprint of 1.6x0.80mm in Pb-free and SN/Pb terminations for military applications.

For more information, see http://www.avx.com