14 Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Manufacturers in 2023
This section provides an overview for aluminum electrolytic capacitors as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 14 aluminum electrolytic capacitor manufacturers and their company rankings.
Table of Contents
What Is an Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor?
An aluminum electrolytic capacitor is a compact capacitor with large capacitance. Aluminum is used for the electrodes and aluminum oxide for the dielectric. Wet type capacitors, which use ion-conductive liquid as the electrolyte for the cathode, are the most common type, and are inexpensive and highly versatile.
However, leakage current and ESR are large and durability is not very high. The dry type, which uses solids such as conductive polymers to improve the performance of the wet type, is now available for a wider range of applications. Both the wet type and the dry type have polarity, so care must be taken when using them, as applying a reverse voltage will cause failure.
Uses of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors
Aluminum electrolytic capacitors are smaller, larger in capacity, and cheaper than other capacitors. For this reason, they are widely used in everyday products, mainly in smoothing circuits for power supplies, decoupling, and low-frequency coupling.
Specifically, 10 to 100 of them are used as parts for flat-screen TVs, PCs, video game consoles, inverter air conditioners, washing machines, and automobiles, among others, in many cases. Due to their high versatility, the performance requirements for aluminum electrolytic capacitors are increasing year by year.
Principle of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors
Aluminum electrolytic capacitors use thin aluminum foil for the anode and cathode and aluminum oxide for the dielectric. The aluminum oxide dielectric has high voltage resistance and can be made thin, and the surface of the aluminum electrode can be etched to make the surface uneven to increase the surface area, thus increasing the capacitance. Therefore, aluminum electrolytic capacitors are used as inexpensive, compact, high-capacity capacitors.
However, one drawback is that the aluminum oxide coating generates more leakage current than other capacitors because of the minute current flow when voltage is applied. The internal cathode of a wet aluminum electrolytic capacitors are made of paper soaked in electrolyte, which can leak the electrolyte in the event of a failure. Another drawback is that the electrolyte evaporates, resulting in low strength and low durability.
On the other hand, dry-type aluminum electrolytic capacitors use conductive polymers for the internal cathode, which do not evaporate and offer better durability than wet-type capacitors.
Life of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors
Among electronic components, wet aluminum electrolytic capacitors are known to have a particularly short life span: while LSIs require tens of thousands of hours of operation time, a typical aluminum electrolytic capacitors has a life span of 2,000 hours at 85°C and a highly reliable one of 5,000 hours at 105°C.
The reason for the life expectancy is the structure of the aluminum electrolytic capacitors, in which the electrolyte impregnated in the insulating paper gradually leaks from the sealing rubber part over time. As the electrolyte leaks out, capacitance decreases and ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) increases.
The life of an aluminum electrolytic capacitors are said to follow Arrhenius' law (chemical reaction formula based on thermal energy) when the temperature is below the maximum operating temperature, and the life is approximately doubled when the temperature is 10°C lower. Therefore, aluminum electrolytic capacitors of 85°C/2,000 hours can be expected to last 4,000 hours if used at 75°C, and 8,000 hours at 65°C.
Compared to other capacitors, aluminum electrolytic capacitors has large ESR, and when a large ripple current flows, the inside of the capacitor generates heat. This heat generation causes the temperature of the capacitor to rise, which further promotes electrolyte leakage and shortens the life of the capacitor.
Based on the above, the following points should be considered to extend the life of aluminum electrolytic capacitors.
- Do not place heat-generating components near the aluminum electrolytic capacitors or on the backside of the board.
- Design the mechanism so that a heat dissipation fan is appropriately placed to circulate air inside the electronic equipment and efficiently dissipate the heat generated by the circuit elements.
- Consideration should be given to component placement and ventilation to efficiently cool aluminum electrolytic capacitors, for example, by drilling holes in the chassis to create air flow.
Also, since heat is concentrated at the top inside the equipment, placing the aluminum electrolytic capacitors at the bottom of the equipment is an effective countermeasure.
Polarity Marking on Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors
Polarized capacitors are always marked with some kind of indication so that the polarity can be easily checked. It is extremely important to check the polarity indication because if the polarity is installed incorrectly, the capacitor may not only malfunction but may also catch fire.
Aluminum electrolytic capacitors are marked for polarity in a variety of ways. Vertical electrolytic capacitors generally have a line on the negative electrode side below the body. Also, the negative electrode lead is slightly shorter.
In surface mount type electrolytic capacitors, capacitance and withstand voltage are indicated on the top surface of the electrolytic capacitor, and there is a colored mark in one corner of the capacitor. The electrode below this mark is the negative electrode.
In an axial leaded capacitor, a line with an arrow indicates the negative electrode lead. In addition, the electrolytic capacitor body has a recess; the side with this recess is the positive electrode.
List of 14 Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Manufacturers
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.
Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors
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Viking Tech Corporation
CONDUCTIVE POLYMER ALUMINUM SOLID ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS
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Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Manufacturer Ranking
*Including some distributors, etc.Ranking as of March 2023 in United States of America
Derivation Method| Rank | Company | Click Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viking Tech Corporation | 33.3% |
| 2 | NANPAO RESINS CHEMICAL GROUP | 16.7% |
| 3 | JEC | 16.7% |
| 4 | CDE | 16.7% |
| 5 | KLS Electronic | 16.7% |
Ranking as of March 2023 Globally
Derivation Method| Rank | Company | Click Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viking Tech Corporation | 33.3% |
| 2 | NANPAO RESINS CHEMICAL GROUP | 22.2% |
| 3 | KLS Electronic | 22.2% |
| 4 | JEC | 11.1% |
| 5 | CDE | 11.1% |
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the aluminum electrolytic capacitor page as of March 2023. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
- TDK Corporation: 116,808
- Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.: 77,581
- Exxelia: 2,100
Newly Established Company
- Exxelia: 2009 (14 years ago)
- Shri Shakti Enterprises: 2003 (20 years ago)
- KLS Electronic: 2002 (21 years ago)
Company with a History
- TDK Corporation: 1935 (88 years ago)
- Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.: 1944 (79 years ago)
- NANPAO RESINS CHEMICAL GROUP: 1963 (60 years ago)
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