E-CAP Capacitance vs Temperature 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 110% 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 Temperature (°C) FIG 2 E-CAP capacitance versus temperature shows <3% variation. - Table 1. Silicon capacitors offer a number of advantages over traditional MLCCs. Parameter Standard MLCC Temperature de-rating -11% upto 85°C DC bias de-rating 44% @3V Aging ESL ESR ~5-10%/10k hrs >100pH (100nF) 10-30 mohms E-CAP Negligiable -~0.3% (measured in ppm/K) - equivalent to COG None <0.001%/10k hrs <10pH (100nF) ~30 mohms 100.0 120.0 140.0 and effective capacitance can be as high as 65%. Unlike MLCCs, the latest si l icon capacitors, such as Empower Semiconductor's E-CAP family, are virtually not affected by temperature (Figure 2), dc (Figure 1), and ac biasing voltage and aging, resulting in their effective capacitance being essentially their nominal capacitance. This eliminates the need to 'over specify' capacitance requirements to take into account derating (Table 1). E-CAP technology is unique in its ability to integrate multiple discrete capacitances into a single monolithic chip (Figures 3 and 4) providi ng a much hi gher den s it y capacitance solution that is simply not achievable with MLCCs. With the latest technologies, E-CAP capacitor solutions can deliver densities that are up to five times higher than equivalent MLCC solutions. Aside from the traditional equivalent series resistance (ESR), a key performance parameter for decoupling capacitors that are used in h igh per formance high- speed September 2022 z IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE 73 % of Nominal Capacitancehttp://www.appliedps.com