Exceeding ceramic capacitor rated voltage.

What do you think will happen if the data-sheet's rated voltage for a ceramic capacitor is exceeded? E.g., Kemet C0805C105J4RAC, an 0805 X7R 1.0uF 16V type; could see 18.6V from a solar-cell panel.

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 Thanks, 
    - Win
Reply to
Winfield Hill
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Very bad! It will instantly short circuit the solar panels draining the sun dry of light and ending all life on earth!

Seriously, not much.

piglet

Reply to
piglet

From what I've seen in other ceramics - there's a loss in capacitance (it's likely already down to 0.5uF or less at rated voltage). Don't know if MTBF suffers. I've never witnessed anything catastrophic.

Reply to
Frank Miles

mandag den 20. august 2018 kl. 21.54.18 UTC+2 skrev Winfield Hill:

wasn't it Larkin that tried 100s of volt on similar caps with no ill effect?

Reply to
Lasse Langwadt Christensen

Protect it with a zener diode.

Reply to
Sjouke Burry

Better yet, I've changed it to an 0805 1uF 35V part. (Thankfully, a set of 8 boards not yet deployed.) A Murata GCM21 X7R part, drops to 0.75uF at 18V.

--
 Thanks, 
    - Win
Reply to
Winfield Hill

3x overvoltage seems safe for most ceramic caps. I've tried 16 volt caps at 120v, and they were OK. The voltage rating is based mostly on capacitance loss, I think, except for C0Gs.

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John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 
picosecond timing   precision measurement  

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com 
http://www.highlandtechnology.com
Reply to
John Larkin

You're familiar with the old "noise-emitting diode" data sheet? Maybe a bit like that. :-)

Reply to
Dave Platt

So what happens when you over voltage C0Gs?

George H.

Reply to
George Herold

No, not at all, and definitely don't fool yourself that that's how they rate them!

I've seen X7Rs with from 70% to 10% of rated value, at rated voltage.

As far as I know, the voltage rating is a minimum breakdown. And typical breakdown seems to be a generous factor above that (someone should do statistics on it).

Type 2 ceramics are no better than ferrite beads. The impedance and rating have _absolutely nothing_ to do with each other, and if things sometimes seem to be some way, it's utter coincidence.

Tim

--
Seven Transistor Labs, LLC 
Electrical Engineering Consultation and Design 
Website: https://www.seventransistorlabs.com/
Reply to
Tim Williams

I assume that C stays pretty constant until they actually fail. So maybe their voltage rating is more realistic than for hi-K dielectrics.

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John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics
Reply to
John Larkin

I've never tried to find the breakdown voltage of caps, but I've seen MLCCs that shorted, caught file and burned holes in the boards. Was that a manufacturing defect rather than an over voltage breakdown?

Rick C.

Reply to
gnuarm.deletethisbit

Is there anything combustible in a MLCC? John

Reply to
jrwalliker

Judging by the manufacturers' C(V) curves, quite a few part numbers share the same physical device.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Reply to
pcdhobbs

That's cheating.

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John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

lunatic fringe electronics
Reply to
John Larkin

Intel does it with their CPUs. Why not their suppliers too? [Ceramic caps are used for interposer bypass.]

Tim

--
Seven Transistor Labs, LLC 
Electrical Engineering Consultation and Design 
Website: https://www.seventransistorlabs.com/
Reply to
Tim Williams

Yes. Electricity. :^)

Usually it's a crack that brings the layers together (shorted), or at least introduces an airgap with much lower breakdown, to the same end. End result is arcing and melted ceramic, along with anything else nearby, usually charred substrate.

The automotive guys put two in series for this reason, it's safer.

Tim

--
Seven Transistor Labs, LLC 
Electrical Engineering Consultation and Design 
Website: https://www.seventransistorlabs.com/
Reply to
Tim Williams

afaiu part of the current shortage is manufacturers trying get rid of the many parts that are basically the same and reduce the number of different packages

Reply to
Lasse Langwadt Christensen

and afaiu mounted at 90 degrees to reduce the risk both will crack

Reply to
Lasse Langwadt Christensen

See e.g. this comparison of Kemet 4.7 uF 0805s, 10V vs 16V:

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Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs 
Principal Consultant 
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics 
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 

http://electrooptical.net 
http://hobbs-eo.com
Reply to
Phil Hobbs

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