Capacitor Failure due to High-Level Electrical Transients.

摘要

The assumption that semiconductors are the most EMP-sensitive components in electronic circuits may not be universally correct. Recent tests conducted on solid tantalum capacitors of low dc voltage rating have demonstrated energy failure levels for solid tantalum capacitors comparable to the failure levels of low-power discrete semiconductor devices and small-scale integrated circuits. This report presents the results of these tests and describes the failure characteristics of the solid tantalum devices and other typical capacitor types. The tests covered the range of pulse widths from 1 to 3 microsec and produced failures in the range from 0.000060 joules to 0.05 joules, depending on the component type. These capacitor failure levels are compared to typical failure levels of semiconductor devices. (Author)