Hybrid Polymer Aluminium Electrolytic Capacitors:

What is a hybrid polymer aluminium electrolytic capacitor?

Polymer electrolytic capacitors are available in a hybrid construction. The hybrid polymer aluminium electrolytic capacitors combine a solid polymer electrolyte with a liquid electrolyte. These types are characterized by low ESR values but have low leakage currents and are insensitive to transients, however they have a temperature-dependent service life similar to non-solid e-caps.

Polymer electrolytic capacitors are mainly used in power supplies of integrated electronic circuits as buffer, bypass, and decoupling capacitors, especially in devices with flat or compact design. Thus they compete with MLCC capacitors, but offer higher capacitance values than MLCC.

Panasonic’s conductive polymer hybrid aluminium electrolytic capacitor has its electrolyte fused with conductive polymer and electrolytic liquid.

As features of both conductive polymer and electrolyte liquid, large ripple current (low Equivalent Series Resistance: ESR), low leakage current and high reliability contribute to downsizing and high equipment reliability.

These components are suitable for automotive equipment and base stations which need compact and high reliability components.

Kemet has entered the aluminium hybrid electrolytic capacitors space with the launch of capacitors that offer many benefits to the modern designer. This launch was made possible with recent advancements in the materials and construction of e-caps, which have yielded a new family of devices called aluminium hybrid polymer capacitors. Like traditional e-caps, these devices use a wound structure of aluminium foil and paper in a metal can. Their novelty lies mainly in the electrolyte, a combination of traditional wet liquids and modern conductive polymers. The result is a device that has exceptionally low series resistance (ESR) and high reliability.