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At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Infant Mortality and Wear-Out Failures in Polymer and MnO2 Tantalum Capacitors

Reliability testing of modern tantalum capacitors shows the presence of both types, infant mortality (IM) and wearout (WO) failures. To assure reliable operation, the probability of IM failures should be reduced to below the specified level, and the time of WO inception should be greater than the required useful life of the parts at operation conditions. In this work, several types of MnO2 and polymer cathode tantalum capacitors have been tested at highly accelerated conditions to assess voltage acceleration factors, determine adequate burn-in conditions, and assess the useful life. A modified time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) model has been suggested to explain both types of failure, and a physical mechanism of degradation that is based on migration and reactions of oxygen vacancies explains increase of the defect related, IM failures with the level of stress.

tantalum capacitors↗
NASA NTRS2023

Metrics for Anomalous Charging currents in Polymer Tantalum Capacitors

Anomalous charging currents (ACC) in polymer tantalum capacitors may appear as a temporary short circuit that can last for dozens of milliseconds, cause failures to the parts, or cause malfunctions to fast operating electronic systems. Currently, there is no standard technique or set of metrics to evaluate the level of ACC which compares results obtained by different users and manufacturers. In this work, ACC in different types of capacitors were characterized by analysis of current transients during the constant voltage ramp or power surge testing (PST) techniques. It is shown that although the shape of transients may vary at different test conditions, the transfer charge and energy remain practically the same. The level of ACC is characterized by the energy dissipated in the part during PST. Variations of the dissipated energy with moisture content, test temperature, and voltage are evaluated. Effects of different reflow soldering conditions and long-term (up to 3000 hours) storage at 125 °C are discussed.

polymer tantalum capacitor↗
DOE OSTI2017

Interface Control of Ferroelectricity in an SrRuO 3 /BaTiO 3 /SrRuO 3 Capacitor and its Critical Thickness

Here, the atomic-scale synthesis of artificial oxide heterostructures offers new opportunities to create novel states that do not occur in nature. The main challenge related to synthesizing these structures is obtaining atomically sharp interfaces with designed termination sequences. In this study, it is demonstrated that the oxygen pressure (P O 2 ) during growth plays an important role in controlling the interfacial terminations of SrRuO 3 /BaTiO 3 /SrRuO 3 (SRO/BTO/SRO) ferroelectric (FE) capacitors. The SRO/BTO/SRO heterostructures are grown by a pulsed laser deposition method. The top SRO/BTO interface, grown at high P O 2 (around 150 mTorr), usually exhibits a mixture of RuO 2 -BaO and SrO-TiO 2 terminations. By reducing P O 2 , the authors obtain atomically sharp SRO/BTO top interfaces with uniform SrO-TiO 2 termination. Using capacitor devices with symmetric and uniform interfacial termination, it is demonstrated for the first time that the FE critical thickness can reach the theoretical limit of 3.5 unit cells.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Fabrication of ultrafine manganese oxide-decorated carbon nanofibers for high-performance electrochemical capacitors

Ultrafine manganese oxide-decorated carbon nanofibers (MnOn-CNF) as a new type of electrode materials are facilely fabricated by direct conversion of Mn, Zn-trimesic acid (H3BTC) metal organic framework fibers (Mn-ZnBTC). The construction and evolution of Mn-ZnBTC precursors are investigated by SEM and in situ high-energy XRD. The manganese oxides are highly dispersed onto the porous carbon nanofibers formed simultaneously, verified by TEM, X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), Raman, ICP-AES and N2 adsorption techniques. As expected, the resulting MnOn-CNF composites are highly stable, and can be cycled up to 5000 times with a high capacitance retention ratio of 98% in electrochemical capacitor measurements. They show a high capacitance of up to 179 F g–1 per mass of the composite electrode, and a remarkable capacitance of up to 18290 F g–1 per active mass of the manganese(IV) oxide, significantly exceeding the theoretical specific capacitance of manganese(IV) oxide (1370 F g–1). The maximum energy density is up to 19.7 Wh kg–1 at the current density of 0.25 A g–1, even orders higher than those of reported electric double-layer capacitors and pseudocapacitors. The excellent capacitive performance can be ascribed to the joint effect of easy accessibility, high porosity, tight contact and superior conductivity integrated in final MnOn-CNF composites.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Activated carbon and single-walled carbon nanotube based electrochemical capacitor in 1 M LiPF{sub 6} electrolyte

Highlights: • Activated carbon and single-walled CNT based electrochemical capacitor. • Electrochemical analysis by means of CV, charge/discharge and impedance. • 1 M LiPF{sub 6} non-aqueous solution as an electrolyte. • AC/SWCNT electrode exhibits a maximum capacitance of 60.97 F g{sup −1}. - Abstract: Carbon nanotubes have been extensively studied because of their wide range of potential application such as in nanoscale electric circuits, textiles, transportation, health, and the environment. Carbon nanotubes feature extraordinary properties, such as electrical conductivities higher than those of copper, hardness and thermal conductivity higher than those of diamond, and strength surpassing that of steel, among others. This research focuses on the fabrication of an energy storage device, namely, an electrochemical capacitor, by using carbon materials, i.e., activated carbon and single-walled carbon nanotubes, of a specific weight ratio as electrode materials. The electrolyte functioning as an ion carrier is 1 M lithium hexafluorophosphate. Variations in the electrochemical performance of the device, including its capacitance, charge/discharge characteristics, and impedance, are reported in this paper. The electrode proposed in this work exhibits a maximum capacitance of 60.97 F g{sup −1} at a scan rate of 1 mV s{sup −1}.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Design of aqueous redox-enhanced electrochemical capacitors with high specific energies and slow self-discharge

Electrochemical double-layer capacitors exhibit high power and long cycle life but have low specific energy compared with batteries, limiting applications. Redox-enhanced capacitors increase specific energy by using redox-active electrolytes that are oxidized at the positive electrode and reduced at the negative electrode during charging. Here we report characteristics of several redox electrolytes to illustrate operational/self-discharge mechanisms and the design rules for high performance. We discover a methyl viologen (MV)/bromide electrolyte that delivers a high specific energy of ~ 14 Wh kg –1 based on the mass of electrodes and electrolyte, without the use of an ion-selective membrane separator. Substituting heptyl viologen for MV increases stability, with no degradation over 20,000 cycles. Self-discharge is low, due to adsorption of the redox couples in the charged state to the activated carbon, and comparable to cells with inert electrolyte. An electrochemical model reproduces experiments and predicts that 30–50 Wh kg –1 is possible with optimization.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

DC Link Capacitor Reduction with Feedforward Control in Series-Series Compensated Wireless Power Transfer Systems

This paper presents the use of feedforward control to reduce the input side DC link capacitance of series-series compensated wireless power transfer (WPT) systems. Compared to conventional control schemes for WPT systems, the proposed feedforward-based approach achieves significant reduction in the DC link capacitor without any complicated voltage or current sensing requirements from the secondary side. This results in more compact hardware architecture. The proposed method shows minimal increase in the turn-on switching loss of the inverter. The switching loss is analyzed, and detailed results are presented relating the switching loss to the DC link capacitance and voltage ripple for proper tradeoff between losses and capacitor size. Simulation and experimental results presented validate the proposed scheme.

Mukherjee, Subho↗
DOE OSTI2021

Efficiency Optimization of Dual Active Bridge Converter Based on dV/dt Snubber Capacitors

This paper presents a lossless regenerative dV/dt snubber circuit for PWM converters to achieve high-efficiency high power-density without significant cost and reliability penalties. The dV/dt snubber employs lossless capacitors for each MOSFET device in a converter to provide an additional path to store the switching energy during turn-off transient and decrease the actual turn-off loss of the MOSFET channel. A novel mathematical turn-off loss model is built to separate the actual turn-off loss of the MOSFET channel and the recycling switching energy stored in the total equivalent output capacitance including Coss, the dV/dt snubber, and etc. Necessary snubber optimization strategy is proposed in order to balance the turn-off loss with ZVS operation range and deadtime conduction loss, and thereby achieving an optimal efficiency performance. To prove the validity and accuracy of the novel turn-off loss model and optimization strategy, the dV/dt snubber has been incorporated into a 1.3kV/200kW DC/DC and a 1kV/70kVA DC/AC PWM converters. Experimental results are given to demonstrate the validity of the proposed dV/dt snubber capacitors and optimization strategy.

Xu, Wei↗
DOE OSTI2024

Predictive Control to Further Reduce DC-Link Capacitor Current Stress for Segmented Inverter

Two three-phase interleaved inverters have been used in traction drive applications to reduce the current stress in a DC link capacitor bank. In such applications, either carrier-based or space vector modulation is used to select the optimum switching sequences, and the results show 50% less capacitor current than that of a single three-phase inverter. The switching state selection process for this inverter is tedious, and there has been no research to find the optimal switching state. To overcome this challenge, this research employed a simple finite set model predictive control to select the optimum switching sequence for a dual three-phase interleaved topology, called a segmented inverter. The results show that the predictive control algorithm can provide a simple solution and can reduce the current stress by 27% compared with traditional modulation techniques for the segmented inverters.

Ribeiro, Pedro↗
DOE OSTI2024

Increasing Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor Lifetime With Bipolar Voltage Cycling

Enhancing the lifetime of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) is critical in many aerospace, naval, or electrical grid applications, where device failure could lead to catastrophic consequences. The migration of oxygen vacancies from the ceramic to the electrode interface under constant bias is known to reduce the lifetime of oxide-based MLCCs. Bias cycling presents an opportunity to enhance MLCC lifetime by reducing oxygen vacancy migration. The ideal frequency range is expected to lie between frequencies low enough to avoid self-heating but high enough to avoid interfacial defect formation. However, the impact of low-frequency bipolar voltage cycling (BVC) on MLCC degradation mechanisms has not been well studied. This work investigates the impact of periodic BVC on the degradation of MLCCs through highly accelerated lifetime testing (HALT) on X7R capacitors. HALT tests were conducted at 255 °C and 60 V using different switching frequencies: 0 (dc), 0.1, 2.5, and 10 Hz. BVC was found to improve the lifetime of MLCCs compared to dc test conditions. MLCCs tested at 10-Hz BVC showed a 311% increase in average time to failure compared to the dc case. Impedance spectroscopy shows that BVC decreases the rate of resistance degradation within MLCCs, indicating that oxygen vacancy migration to the electrodes is mitigated. The impedance spectra taken on BVC samples highlight how grain boundaries play a vital role in trapping oxygen vacancies. Periodic cycling causes oxygen vacancies to become trapped at grain boundaries, resulting in oxygen vacancies taking longer to reach the electrode interface and thus increasing MLCC lifetime. This work highlights not only how BVC can be used to increase MLCC lifetime but also how periodically cycling MLCCs could increase lifetime in extreme environments, such as at elevated temperatures and electric fields.

Chuong, Kayla Y.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Demonstration of Vertical 2T-nC FeRAM Hybrid Cell and Its Scalability for High-Density 3-D Ferroelectric Capacitor Memory

In this work, we present a comprehensive experimental and modeling study on the scaling of vertical 2T-nC ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) hybrid cells, comprising n metal-ferroelectric–metal (MFM) capacitors, to demonstrate a high-performance and high-density 3-D capacitor memory. Our contributions include: 1) successful process integration of vertical 2T-3C FeRAM cells by stacking MFM structures on top of Si CMOS transistors; 2) experimental validation of memory cell functionality, confirming the feasibility of the vertical 2T-nC FeRAM architecture; 3) an analysis of scaling effects on parasitic capacitance in densely integrated 3-D arrays, using 3-D technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulations; 4) exploration of aggressive stacking of write bitlines (WBLs) to enhance memory density, where ferroelectric linear capacitance ( C FE ) enables self-boosted inhibition under the V W /2 scheme, but renders the V W /3 scheme ineffective due to intolerable write disturbances; and 5) assessment of horizontal scaling, revealing significant increases in read disturbances caused by interplane capacitance between adjacent WBLs ( C Z ). This work represents an early exploration into the potential of 2T-nC FeRAM as a scalable and efficient 3-D memory solution.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Reduced Common-Mode Voltage PWM Scheme for Full-SiC Three-Level Uninterruptible Power Supply With Small DC-Link Capacitors

In this article, a pulsewidth modulation (PWM) scheme for three-level full-SiC uninterruptible power supplies is developed to achieve a high power density. Two key passive components are selected for size reduction of the ac-ac stage: common-mode (CM) EMI filter, and dc-link capacitors. To reduce the CM noise, a new vector combination is proposed based on synchronous switching among three-phases. The proposed combinations align CM voltage (CMV) to be a single pulse per switching period. Owing to the simple shape, CMV cancellation between a three-level rectifier and inverter can be maximally utilized. A transition between the three combinations can control the drift of neutral point voltage. An equivalent carrier-based implementation is developed. Second, a simple algorithm to compensate neutral point voltage fluctuation is proposed both for differential mode (DM) and CM output voltage. Low-order harmonics on three-phase currents and an additional high-frequency CM noise by misaligned switching instant can be eliminated. The proposed compensation can be implemented by a simple correction on carrier slopes and injected zero-sequence voltage. The proposed PWM scheme is verified with 20-kW full-SiC UPS switching at 60 kHz with 140 μF dc-link capacitors.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effect of GaN surface treatment on Al 2 O 3 /n-GaN MOS capacitors

The surface preparation for depositing Al 2 O 3 for fabricating Au/Ni/Al 2 O 3 /n-GaN (0001) metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitors was optimized as a step toward realization of high performance GaN MOSFETs. The GaN surface treatments studied included cleaning with piranha (H 2 O 2 :H 2 SO 4 = 1:5), (NH 4 )(2)S, and 30% HF etches. By several metrics, the MOS capacitor with the piranha-etched GaN had the best characteristics. It had the lowest capacitance-voltage hysteresis, the smoothest Al 2 O 3 surface as determined by atomic force microscopy (0.2nm surface roughness), the lowest carbon concentration (similar to 0.78%) at the Al 2 O 3 /n-GaN interface (from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), and the lowest oxide-trap charge (Q(T) = 1.6 x 10(11) cm(-2) eV(-1)). Its interface trap density (D-it = 3.7 x 10(12) cm(-2) eV(-1)), as measured with photon-assisted capacitance- voltage method, was the lowest from conduction band-edge to midgap. (C) 2015 American Vacuum Society.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Investigating compositional effects of atomic layer deposition ternary dielectric Ti-Al-O on metal-insulator-semiconductor heterojunction capacitor structure for gate insulation of InAlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN

Gate insulation/surface passivation in AlGaN/GaN and InAlN/GaN heterojunction field-effect transistors is a major concern for passivation of surface traps and reduction of gate leakage current. However, finding the most appropriate gate dielectric materials is challenging and often involves a compromise of the required properties such as dielectric constant, conduction/valence band-offsets, or thermal stability. Creating a ternary compound such as Ti-Al-O and tailoring its composition may result in a reasonably good gate material in terms of the said properties. To date, there is limited knowledge of the performance of ternary dielectric compounds on AlGaN/GaN and even less on InAlN/GaN. To approach this problem, the authors fabricated metal-insulator-semiconductor heterojunction (MISH) capacitors with ternary dielectrics Ti-Al-O of various compositions, deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The film deposition was achieved by alternating cycles of TiO2 and Al2O3 using different ratios of ALD cycles. TiO2 was also deposited as a reference sample. The electrical characterization of the MISH capacitors shows an overall better performance of ternary compounds compared to the pure TiO2. The gate leakage current density decreases with increasing Al content, being similar to 2-3 orders of magnitude lower for a TiO2:Al2O3 cycle ratio of 2:1. Although the dielectric constant has the highest value of 79 for TiO2 and decreases with increasing the number of Al2O3 cycles, it is maintaining a relatively high value compared to an Al2O3 film. Capacitance voltage sweeps were also measured in order to characterize the interface trap density. A decreasing trend in the interface trap density was found while increasing Al content in the film. In conclusion, our study reveals that the desired high-kappa properties of TiO2 can be adequately maintained while improving other insulator performance factors. The ternary compounds may be an excellent choice as a gate material for both AlGaN/GaN and InAlN/GaN based devices.

Colon, Albert↗
DOE OSTI2014

Formation of polycrystalline-silicon films with hemispherical grains for capacitor structures with increased capacitance

The effect of formation conditions on the morphology of silicon films with hemispherical grains (HSG-Si) obtained by the method of low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) is investigated by atomic-force microscopy. The formation conditions for HSG-Si films with a large surface area are found. The obtained HSG-Si films make it possible to fabricate capacitor structures, the electric capacitance of which is twice as large in comparison to that of capacitors with “smooth” electrodes from polycrystalline silicon.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Processing of Onion-like Carbon for Electrochemical Capacitors

Multi-shell fullerenes known as onion-like carbon (OLC) are especially attractive in applications relative to energy storage, such as electrochemical capacitors, due to a near-spherical shape of particles, their nanoscale diameters and high conductivity leading to fast rate performance. Because of this, onion-like carbon can be fabricated into electrodes, used as a conductive additive, and may have potential in composites and additive manufacturing. However due to agglomeration of OLC particles, creating a stable, aqueous dispersion for ink production or formulating composites proves challenging. Also, we explore how attrition milling, acid treatment, and probe sonication can be employed to decrease agglomeration and provide colloidal stability in aqueous media. We also investigate how the electrochemical performance changes with each processing step as well as the treatments in succession. When tested in electrochemical capacitors, the processing increases the capacitance by a factor of three, due to an added pseudocapacitive contribution which is not present in untreated OLC. As a result, the processing of OLC proves to be advantageous for the production of stable, aqueous solutions, which also exhibit improved electrochemical properties suitable for functional inks, conductive additives, and fabrication of composite electrodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2013

A Magnesium-Activated Carbon Hybrid Capacitor

Prototype cells of hybrid capacitor were developed, comprising activated carbon (AC) cloth and magnesium (Mg) foil as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively. The electrolyte solution included ether solvent (TBF) and a magnesium organo-halo-aluminate complex 0.25 M Mg2Cl3+-Ph2AlCl2-. In this solution Mg can be deposited/dissolved reversibly for thousands of cycles with high reversibility (100% cycling efficiency). The main barrier for integrating porous AC electrodes with this electrolyte solution was the saturation of the pores with the large ions in the AC prior to reaching the potential limit. This is due to the existence of bulky Mg and Al based ionic complexes consisting Cl, alkyl or aryl (R), and THF ligands. This problem was resolved by adding 0.5 M of lithium chloride (LiCl), thus introducing smaller ionic species to the solution. This Mg hybrid capacitor system demonstrated a stable cycle performance for many thousands of cycles with a specific capacitance of 90 Fg(-1) for the AC positive electrodes along a potential range of 2.4 V. (C) 2014 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.

Yoo, HD↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of Capacitors for Power Electronics in Hybrid Vehicles

The purpose of this CRADA is to develop a fabrication process to reduce the manufacturing cost for a very compact, high temperature, film-on-foil high energy-density PLZT (Pb-La-Zr- Ti-O) capacitor. Motivation for this CRADA is derived from the DOE’s Office of Vehicle Technologies (OVT) program, which seeks to advance technologies to improve vehicle fuel efficiency in the mid-term and facilitate the transition to electric drive vehicles over the longterm. The objective of Argonne’s work is to develop and characterize high-performance capacitors on base-metal foils. The PLZT film-on-foil prepared using a spin-coating technique

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗