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This section provides an overview for tantalum capacitors as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 19 tantalum capacitor manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked tantalum capacitor companies as of December, 2024: 1.Semec Technology Company Limited, 2.WIN SOURCE ELECTRONICS, 3.Admat, Inc..
Table of Contents
A tantalum capacitor is a type of electrolytic capacitor that uses tantalum oxide as the Dielectric material.
An electrolytic capacitor is a capacitor that uses an oxide film of aluminum or tantalum as a dielectric material. Tantalum capacitors are made by oxidizing the surface of tantalum, a rare metal, to form tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5), which is then used as the Dielectric material.
Tantalum capacitors are smaller than aluminum electrolytic capacitors. In terms of merits, tantalum capacitors have a longer life, are resistant to temperature changes, and have better frequency characteristics. On the other hand, tantalum capacitor is very expensive, so the price is relatively high for a capacitor.
In addition, there is a risk of short circuit between electrodes when broken. Therefore, it is important to observe proper usage.
Tantalum capacitors have a wide range of applications and are used in all kinds of electronic equipment, including cellular phones, personal computers, video game consoles, car navigation systems, and audio equipment. Because of their superior high-frequency and temperature characteristics compared to aluminum capacitors, tantalum capacitors are used in smoothing circuits for switching power supplies that turn current on and off at high frequencies.
Another ideal application is decoupling capacitors that absorb spike noise in power supply circuits. Furthermore, they are also used as backup capacitors to hold the power supply temporarily.
In recent years, miniaturization has been progressing, and products as small as 0.5 mm in height have appeared, contributing to the miniaturization of cell phones, personal computers, and other devices.
A tantalum capacitor is composed of a chant pole, a dielectric, and a cathode.
Tantalum material is connected to the electrode via a sintered metal rod.
A thin film of tantalum pentoxide, which is oxidized from the tantalum of the anode, serves as the dielectric. A kind of diode is formed between the tantalum pentoxide and the cathode, which has capacitance when the reverse bias is maintained, but large current flow when a forward voltage is applied.
This is the reason why tantalum capacitors have polarity. The extremely thin layer of tantalum pentoxide allows for a large capacitance.
Manganese dioxide or a conductive polymer is used as the cathode material to ensure continuity between the electrodes. Conductive polymers have lower resistance and better ESR characteristics than manganese dioxide.
In addition, a current-carrying metal such as silver or graphite is placed between the cathode and the electrode to lower the resistance. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors use an electrolytic solution, which gradually evaporates and has a relatively short life span. Tantalum capacitors, on the other hand, are made entirely of solid material and have a long life span.
The main cause of failure in tantalum capacitors is due to a localized short circuit in the dielectric of the capacitor. When connected to a low impedance circuit such as a power line, a large current will concentrate at the shorted point and generate heat, which may lead to ignition.
Once a tantalum capacitor ignites, it continues to burn with a flame Until it burns out. For this reason, many manufacturers of equipment requiring high reliability or equipment that is constantly energized, have banned the use of tantalum capacitors altogether. Even in portable equipment powered by batteries, burnout of tantalum capacitors has been reported, so care and circuit verification are required when using them.
Two general countermeasures are "do not apply reverse voltage under any circumstances" and "select a capacitor with a rated voltage that has a sufficient margin for the voltage applied to the capacitor." In particular, when used in a power supply circuit, it is desirable to use a tantalum capacitor with a voltage rating of at least twice the power supply voltage, or three times the voltage rating, if possible.
In addition, if the ripple current inflow is large, the heat generated inside the capacitor may cause degradation, so it is also recommended to select a large package that is conducive for heat dissipation.
Tantalum capacitors are polarized, and if the specified polarity is incorrect, a large current will flow, leading to ignition in the worst case. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the polarity markings on the electrodes.
Tantalum capacitors can be classified into three types based on their construction, namely: chip type, metal case hermetically sealed type, and resin dipped type.
Aluminum electrolytic capacitors, which are also polarized, are marked on the anode side and are marked differently from tantalum capacitors. When replacing an aluminum electrolytic capacitor with a tantalum capacitor, care must be taken to ensure that the polarity is correct.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Win Source Electronics is an AS9120B-certified business-to-business (B2B) distributor of electronic products, accessories and components that was established in Shenzhen, China, in 1999. The company stocks products from over 3,000 manufacturers, including C&K Components, Fujitsu Electronics America, and American Zettler, Inc. These products include power supplies and converters, memory modules, and RFID devices for wireless communication. The company primarily markets its products to clients in Asia's consumer electronics, energy, and industrial manufacturing sectors.
Abracon LLC, founded in 1992 with headquarters in the USA, is an ISO 9001:2015 manufacturer of precision electronic components for the aerospace, defense, security, medical, and transport markets worldwide. The company's core products include RADAR and LIDAR systems, radio communications, datalinks, aircraft computing, and head-up displays. Transportation products include crystals, oscillators, antennas, and inductors for transportation applications in harsh environments. Abracon LLC's medical solutions include hospital beds, bedside patient monitors, MRIs, and surgery-assisted robotics.
Tokin America Inc., headquartered in San Jose, California, is a supplier of passive electronic components in North, South, and Central America and is a subsidiary of Tokin Corporation. Its diverse product range includes capacitors, noise countermeasure components, and sensors used in several industries, including telecommunication, automotive electronics, and digital home appliances. The company also provides specialized design support and works with several distributors within the United States, including Future Electronics, WPG Americas, and Bravo Electronics.
Mallory Sonalert Products, Inc. is an American manufacturer of audible and visual warning devices that was established in 1968 as a subsidiary of the Mallory Electric Corporation. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the company produces panel alarms, transducers, sirens, and speakers. These are designed to aid in monitoring patients, manufacturing operations, security maintenance, and indicating equipment statuses. Sonalert products are primarily used by clients in the industrial manufacturing, transportation, medical, and military sectors.
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (Vishay) was incorporated in 1962 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The company serves the industrial, automotive, telecommunications, consumer products, and medical end markets and sells its products under numerous brand names inlcuding Siliconix, Draloric, Beyschlag, UltraSource, and Applied Thin-Film Products. The company manufactures and sells discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components in globally while operating in six market segments: MOSFETs, diodes, optoelectronic components, resistors, inductors, and capacitors.
KEMET has a portfolio of over 1,600 patents serving the automotive, aerospace, industrial, telecommunications, computing, consumer, and medical devices. KEMETs devices provide filtering, sensing, energy storage, power conversion, and haptic actuator technology. Among these devices are capacitors, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) components, resistors, circuit protection devices, inductors, sensors, Piezoelectric devices, release, transformers, and engineering kits.
NIC Components Corp., and Nippon Industries Co. Ltd. have collaborated for over 37 years to design and manufacture passive components, including capacitors, resistors, and magnetics. Established in the USA in 1982, NIC has expanded its business to the custom speciality that meets the demands of today’s emerging and latest technology. Their regional offices can be found in Canada, Malaysia, India, Mexico, China, etc. All of their products are built with more features and are certified with different ISO certifications. They also assist their customers in component selection through live support.
Admat, Inc. is an American supplier of refractory metals established in 1997 and based in Norristown, Pennsylvania. The company's product inventory includes refractory metals such as tungsten, niobium, titanium, and molybdenum in various forms for utilization in the industrial sector. These include rods, tubes, sheets/plates, and wire, as well as thin films and capacitors. Admat also provides custom machining and fabrication services for their clients in semiconductor production, chemical processing, and the defense industry.
Matsuo Electric Co.,Ltd., founded in 1949 in Japan, is a specialty component manufacturer of tantalum capacitors, film capacitors, and circuit protection components. The company's microelectronics products include small size, long life, chip tantalum capacitors, leaded tantalum capacitors, fuses, and PET and PPS-type film capacitors used by original equipment manufacturers in a wide variety of industries, including the automotive, electronics, space, and healthcare markets for fire alarms, personal computers, power tools, hearing aids, automotive navigation, and many more devices. Matsuo Electric Co.,Ltd.'s products are RoHS compliant.
Exxelia was born in Paris, France in 2009 from the merger of five companies, the oldest of which was SIC-SAFCO, founded in France in 1921. The combined conglomerate is a manufacturer of electronic components to electronics manufacturers worldwide. The conglomerate’s entities are organized into 3 global business units: Capacitors, Magnetics, and Resistors & Subsystems. Capacitors are divided into basic materials such as aluminum electrolytic, ceramic, film, and tantalum. Magnetics are divided into functions with inductors, transformers, and rotors as subsections. Resistors & Subsystems are also divided by function and design with resistors, filters, position sensors, and mechanics & subassembly.
RS Components Ltd. is a distributor of electrical components, founded in 1937 and located in Corby, Northamptonshire. Their product range includes, but is not limited to, electronic connectors, cables, wires, as well as enclosures, relays, and switches. The company serves multiple industries, including Food & Beverage, Marine, Electronics, Automotive, and more. Worldwide delivery requirements are accommodated with support for multiple freight options, and the company also specializes in hazardous packaging compliant with IATA standards.
Hybrid Electronics is a global distribution specialist of electronic components, with access to over 50 million unique components. Among the markets HE serves are the aerospace, automotive, communications, defense, industrial, medical, national security, and test & measurement industries. In addition to components, HE also provides quality and compliance testing, counterfeit detection, upscreening, and other forms of quality control. Examples of component subtypes that HE offers include ICs, batteries, capacitors, semiconductor products, sensors, circuit protection, interconnectors, filters, optoelectronics, relays, switches, power supplies, and cables and cable assemblies.
Kingtronics International Company was established in 1990 in Hong Kong and has several factories across China manufacturing electronic components such as bridge rectifiers. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified and works with several distributors around the world including KORE, Prod. El, DTDS, and others. The company produces two kinds of electronics components: passive components such as aluminum electrolytic capacitors including radial type and axial type, and active components such as diodes, transistors, and bridge rectifiers.
Ranking as of December 2024
Derivation Method| Rank | Company | Click Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Semec Technology Company Limited |
11.6%
|
| 2 | Exxelia |
8.8%
|
| 3 | Admat, Inc. |
8.5%
|
| 4 | WIN SOURCE ELECTRONICS |
8.3%
|
| 5 | NIC Components Corp. |
8.2%
|
| 6 | Tokin America, Inc |
7.8%
|
| 7 | Matsuo Electric Co.,Ltd. |
7.2%
|
| 8 | Mallory Sonalert Products, Inc. |
6.6%
|
| 9 | Hybrid Electronics Corporation |
6.0%
|
| 10 | Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., |
5.3%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the tantalum capacitor page as of December 2024. 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
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
*Including some distributors, etc.
*Including some distributors, etc.
| Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
|
United States of America
|
7 | 63.6% |
|
China
|
2 | 18.2% |
|
Japan
|
2 | 18.2% |
28 products found
28 products
Nimatsu Electric Co., Ltd.
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Zonkas is a manufacturer of capacitors, inductors, transformers, thermistors, etc., established in Taiwan in 1982. The company is headquartered in ...
Keisei Co., Ltd.
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■Features ・Excellent noise absorption performance ・High allowable ripple current ・Small, thin, high capacitance, low ESR ・Lead-free (JEITA PHAS...
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■Ultra low ESR series products The 281 type is an ultra-low ESR series product developed based on the 267 type. ■Features ・The structure is ideal...
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■Tantalum capacitors compatible with high-density mounting, taking into consideration not only small size and low profile but also mounting area. I...
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■Product designed for small size and high reliability Model 267 is a product that pursues a smaller size and higher reliability based on the techno...
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■Product designed for small size and high reliability Model 267 is a product that pursues a smaller size and higher reliability based on the techno...
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■Products pursuing compactness and high performance Model 267 is a product that pursues smaller size and higher performance based on the technology...
Matsuo Electric Co.,Ltd.
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■Suitable for use in high temperature environments Type 271 is a highly heat-resistant chip tantalum capacitor that is suitable for use in high-tem...
Matsuo Electric Co.,Ltd.
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■Completely lead-free tantalum solid electrolytic capacitors Type 279 is a completely lead-free tantalum solid electrolytic capacitor with a built-...
Matsuo Electric Co.,Ltd.
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■Products pursuing compactness and high performance Model 267 is a product that pursues smaller size and higher performance based on the technology...
Matsuo Electric Co.,Ltd.
40+ people viewing
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■Ultra low ESR series products The 281 type is an ultra-low ESR series product developed based on the 267 type. ■Features ・The structure is ideal...
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■Tantalum solid electrolytic capacitor using conductive polymer in the cathode layer The TCA type is a tantalum solid electrolytic capacitor that u...
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■Tantalum solid electrolytic capacitor with bottom electrode structure using conductive polymer in the cathode layer The TCB type is a tantalum sol...
Tokin America, Inc
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■Summary "NeoCapacitor" is a conductive polymer chip that achieves lower ESR (equivalent series resistance) than conventional manganese dioxide typ...
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Tokin America, Inc
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■Summary A capacitor that uses tantalum oxide as a dielectric material and is characterized by its small size and large capacity. It also has excel...
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