THE IDEAL CAPACITOR

The non-ideal characteristics of a real capacitor can be ignored at low

frequencies. Physical size imparts inductance to the capacitor and

dielectric and metal electrodes result in resistive losses, but these often

are of negligible effect on the circuit. At the very high frequencies of radio

communication (>100MHz) and satellite systems (>1GHz), these effects

become important. Recognizing that a real capacitor will exhibit inductive

and resistive impedances in addition to capacitance, the ideal capacitor for

these high frequencies is an ultra low loss component which can be fully

characterized in all parameters with total repeatability from unit to unit.

Until recently, most high frequency/microwave capacitors were based on

fired-ceramic (porcelain) technology. Layers of ceramic dielectric material

and metal alloy electrode paste are interleaved and then sintered in a

high temperature oven. This technology exhibits component variability in

dielectric quality (losses, dielectric constant and insulation resistance),

variability in electrode conductivity and variability in physical size (affecting

inductance). An alternate thin-film technology has been developed which

virtually eliminates these variances. It is this technology which has been fully

incorporated into Accu-P® and Accu-P® to provide high frequency capacitors

exhibiting truly ideal characteristics.

The main features of Accu-P® may be summarized as follows:

• High purity of electrodes for very low and repeatable ESR.

• Highly pure, low-K dielectric for high breakdown field, high insulation

resistance and low losses to frequencies above 40GHz.

• Very tight dimensional control for uniform inductance, unit to unit.

• Very tight capacitance tolerances for high frequency signal

applications.

This accuracy sets apart these Thin-Film capacitors from ceramic capacitors

so that the term Accu has been employed as the designation for this series

of devices, an abbreviation for “accurate.”

THIN-FILM TECHNOLOGY

Thin-film technology is commonly used in producing semiconductor devices.

In the last two decades, this technology has developed tremendously, both

in performance and in process control. Today’s techniques enable line

definitions of below 1μm, and the controlling of thickness of layers at 100Å

(10-2μm). Applying this technology to the manufacture of capacitors has

enabled the development of components where both electrical and physical

properties can be tightly controlled.

The thin-film production facilities at KYOCERA AVX consist of:

• Class 1000 clean rooms, with working areas under laminar-flow hoods

of class 100, (below 100 particles per cubic foot larger than 0.5μm).

• High vacuum metal deposition systems for high-purity

electrode construction.

• Photolithography equipment for line definition down to 2.0μm

accuracy.

• Plasma-enhanced CVD for various dielectric depositions

(CVD=Chemical Vapor Deposition).

• High accuracy, microprocessor-controlled dicing saws for

chip separation.

• High speed, high accuracy sorting to ensure strict tolerance adherence.

ACCU-P® TECHNOLOGY

The use of very low-loss dielectric materials, silicon dioxide and silicon

oxynitride, in conjunction with highly conductive electrode metals results

in low ESR and high Q. These high-frequency characteristics change

at a slower rate with increasing frequency than for ceramic microwave

capacitors.

Because of the thin-film technology, the above-mentioned frequency

characteristics are obtained without significant compromise of properties

required for surface mounting.

The main Accu-P® properties are:

• Internationally agreed sizes with excellent dimensional control.

• Ultra small size chip capacitors (1005) are available.

• Ultra tight capacitance tolerances.

• Low ESR at VHF, UHF and microwave frequencies.

• Enhanced RF power handling capablity.

• High stability with respect to time, temperature, frequency and voltage

variation.

• Nickel/solder-coated terminations to provide excellent solderability

and leach resistance.

ACCU-P® FEATURES

Accu-P® meets the fast-growing demand for low-loss (high-Q) capacitors for

use in surface mount technology especially for the mobile communications

market, such as cellular radio of 450 and 900 MHz, UHF walkie-talkies, UHF

cordless telephones to 2.3 GHz, low noise blocks at 11-12.5 GHz and for

other VHF, UHF and microwave applications.

Accu-P® is currently unique in its ability to offer very low capacitance values

(0.05pF) and very tight capacitance tolerances (±0.01pF).

• The RF power handling capability of the Accu-P® allows for its usage in

both small signal and RF power applications.

• Thin Film Technology guarantees minimal batch to batch variability of

parameters at high frequency.

• Inspection test and quality control procedures in accordance with

ISO 9001, CECC, IECQ and USA MIL Standards yield products of the

highest quality.

• Hand soldering Accu-P®: Due to their construction utilizing relatively

high thermal conductivity materials, Accu-P’s have become the

preferred device in R & D labs and production environments where

hand soldering is used.

APPLICATIONS

• Cellular Communications

• CT2/PCN (Cordless

Telephone/Personal Comm.

Networks)

• Satellite TV

• Cable TV

• GPS (Global Positioning

Systems)

• Vehicle Location Systems

• Vehicle Alarm Systems

• Paging

• Military

Communications

• Radar Systems

• Video Switching

• Test & Measurements

• Filters

• VCO’s

• Matching Networks

• RF Amplifiers

012521

Thin-Film RF/Microwave Capacitor Technology

Thin-Film Technology

Accu-P® Series

APPROVALS

• ISO 9001

• IATF 16949:2016