AVX Upgrades Tantalum and Niobium Oxide Capacitor Simulation Software to Improve the PC-Based Design-In Process
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (January 14, 2009) - AVX Corporation, a leading manufacturer of
advanced passive components and leaded solutions, has launched the latest version of its SpiTanII software that enables designers to view all basic characteristics and parameters for tantalum and Oxicap® (niobium oxide) capacitors. The company has also expanded the PSpice simulation software libraries it offers for its tantalum, tantalum polymer and niobium oxide chip parts, as well as introducing V6.0 of its Select-a-Cap software tool. Computer modeling and simulation is an important design resource that can save cost and time to market, and reduce potential quality issues. However, for this approach to be effective, high quality models are required to show realistic behavior and not merely "ideal" performance. These three new tools from AVX greatly improve the PC-based design-in process for tantalum and niobium oxide
capacitors.
SpiTanII enables the designer to choose a desired component by part number or by
reference to capacitance, rated voltage, case size or series. For the selected capacitor, all basic parameters, such as frequency characteristics of capacitance, ESR, impedance, DF and ripple current and ripple voltage ratings, are displayed. The latest version, 1.7, of the software includes new parts from TAJ, Oxicap, NOJ, and TLJ Series, as well as from high temperature THJ Series and low ESR TPS Series ranges. The software can be downloaded from AVX website at www.avx.com/spiapps/spitan/SpitanIIV1_7.zip.
AVX has also expanded its PSpice simulation software libraries, adding about 500 new
models to match the product range covered by SpitanII V1.7. Libraries include all electrical parameters, enabling fast simulation of practical circuit designs. AVX's tantalum and NbO capacitor libraries provide both frequency and transient simulations over the full operating temperature ranges for each device. The libraries can be downloaded and plugged into PSpice software from AVX' web pages: www.avx.com/SpiApps/pspice/schematics.zip; and
http://www.avx.com/SpiApps/pspice/capture.zip.
Version 6.0 of AVX's Select-a-Cap software tool helps electrical designers choose the
most suitable tantalum or niobium oxide capacitors for their designs. V6.0 has been extended to cover the latest product ranges of OxiCap NOS, NOM, TLJ (high CV tantalum) and TAW (fuse tantalum) Series as well as all series that belong to TACmicrochip® design. As a result of customer feedback, several modifications have been made to create a more user-friendly environment for design engineers. For example: additional guidelines are provided for the ripple current and failure rate calculations; the reliability calculation is now recorded in %/hours and years as well as in FITs for given PN; temperature selection has been improved; and the data result screen layout has been clarified. The software can be downloaded at:
http://www.avx.com/SpiApps/SelectACap/SelectCap.exe.
For more information, contact AVX at 801 17th Avenue South, Myrtle Beach, S.C. 29578;
by calling 843-448-9411; by fax at 843-444-2864; or on the Web at www.avx.com.
AVX Corporation is a leading international supplier of electronic passive components
and interconnect solutions with 24 manufacturing and customer support facilities in 15 countries around the world. AVX offers a broad range of devices including capacitors, resistors, filters, timing and circuit protection devices and connectors. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:AVX).
