Passive Components Blog
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • NewsFilter
    • All
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Antenna
    • Applications
    • Automotive
    • Capacitors
    • Circuit Protection Devices
    • electro-mechanical news
    • Filters
    • Fuses
    • Inductors
    • Industrial
    • Integrated Passives
    • inter-connect news
    • Market & Supply Chain
    • Market Insights
    • Medical
    • Modelling and Simulation
    • New Materials & Supply
    • New Technologies
    • Non-linear Passives
    • Oscillators
    • Passive Sensors News
    • Resistors
    • RF & Microwave
    • Telecommunication
    • Weekly Digest

    VINATech Expands Aluminum Capacitor Portfolio with Acquisition of Enesol

    binder Offers Wide Range of M12 Panel Mount Connectors

    Bourns Releases New Shielded Power Inductors

    Supercapacitors Benefits in Industrial Valve Fail-Safe Control Systems

    Wk 21 Electronics Supply Chain Digest

    Samsung Electro-Mechanics Releases High-Capacitance MLCCs for AI Server Applications

    Samsung Electro-Mechanics Releases 165C Automotive 0806 Size Power Inductors

    Coupled Inductors Circuit Model and Examples of its Applications

    Würth Elektronik Introduces LTspice Models for ESD Products

    Trending Tags

    • Ripple Current
    • RF
    • Leakage Current
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
    • Snubber
    • Low ESR
    • Feedthrough
    • Derating
    • Dielectric Constant
    • New Products
    • Market Reports
  • VideoFilter
    • All
    • Antenna videos
    • Capacitor videos
    • Circuit Protection Video
    • Filter videos
    • Fuse videos
    • Inductor videos
    • Inter-Connect Video
    • Non-linear passives videos
    • Oscillator videos
    • Passive sensors videos
    • Resistor videos

    Coupled Inductors Circuit Model and Examples of its Applications

    Inductor Resonances and its Impact to EMI

    Highly Reliable Flex Rigid PCBs, Würth Elektronik Webinar

    Causes of Oscillations in Flyback Converters

    How to design a 60W Flyback Transformer

    Modeling and Simulation of Leakage Inductance

    Power Inductor Considerations for AI High Power Computing – Vishay Video

    Coupled Inductors in Multiphase Boost Converters

    VPG Demonstrates Precision Resistor in Cryogenic Conditions

    Trending Tags

    • Capacitors explained
    • Inductors explained
    • Resistors explained
    • Filters explained
    • Application Video Guidelines
    • EMC
    • New Products
    • Ripple Current
    • Simulation
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
  • Knowledge Blog
  • Suppliers
    • Who is Who
  • Events
  • Home
  • NewsFilter
    • All
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Antenna
    • Applications
    • Automotive
    • Capacitors
    • Circuit Protection Devices
    • electro-mechanical news
    • Filters
    • Fuses
    • Inductors
    • Industrial
    • Integrated Passives
    • inter-connect news
    • Market & Supply Chain
    • Market Insights
    • Medical
    • Modelling and Simulation
    • New Materials & Supply
    • New Technologies
    • Non-linear Passives
    • Oscillators
    • Passive Sensors News
    • Resistors
    • RF & Microwave
    • Telecommunication
    • Weekly Digest

    VINATech Expands Aluminum Capacitor Portfolio with Acquisition of Enesol

    binder Offers Wide Range of M12 Panel Mount Connectors

    Bourns Releases New Shielded Power Inductors

    Supercapacitors Benefits in Industrial Valve Fail-Safe Control Systems

    Wk 21 Electronics Supply Chain Digest

    Samsung Electro-Mechanics Releases High-Capacitance MLCCs for AI Server Applications

    Samsung Electro-Mechanics Releases 165C Automotive 0806 Size Power Inductors

    Coupled Inductors Circuit Model and Examples of its Applications

    Würth Elektronik Introduces LTspice Models for ESD Products

    Trending Tags

    • Ripple Current
    • RF
    • Leakage Current
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
    • Snubber
    • Low ESR
    • Feedthrough
    • Derating
    • Dielectric Constant
    • New Products
    • Market Reports
  • VideoFilter
    • All
    • Antenna videos
    • Capacitor videos
    • Circuit Protection Video
    • Filter videos
    • Fuse videos
    • Inductor videos
    • Inter-Connect Video
    • Non-linear passives videos
    • Oscillator videos
    • Passive sensors videos
    • Resistor videos

    Coupled Inductors Circuit Model and Examples of its Applications

    Inductor Resonances and its Impact to EMI

    Highly Reliable Flex Rigid PCBs, Würth Elektronik Webinar

    Causes of Oscillations in Flyback Converters

    How to design a 60W Flyback Transformer

    Modeling and Simulation of Leakage Inductance

    Power Inductor Considerations for AI High Power Computing – Vishay Video

    Coupled Inductors in Multiphase Boost Converters

    VPG Demonstrates Precision Resistor in Cryogenic Conditions

    Trending Tags

    • Capacitors explained
    • Inductors explained
    • Resistors explained
    • Filters explained
    • Application Video Guidelines
    • EMC
    • New Products
    • Ripple Current
    • Simulation
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
  • Knowledge Blog
  • Suppliers
    • Who is Who
  • Events
No Result
View All Result
Passive Components Blog
No Result
View All Result

Aluminum Capacitors for LED Lighting

22.9.2022
Reading Time: 6 mins read
A A

This technical blog article written by Raul Wang, KYOCERA-AVX Components Corporation, explains benefits and use of Aluminum electrolytic capacitors in LED lighting circuits and provide selection guidelines of electrolytic, hybrid and polymer aluminum capacitor technologies.

Capacitors in LED Drivers

While relatively expensive, LED lighting is more reliable, more configurable, and uses significantly less electrical power for the same luminous output when compared to its incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen counterparts.

RelatedPosts

Capacitor Ripple Current Testing: A Design Consideration

KYOCERA AVX Releases Compact High-Directivity Couplers

Kyocera Introducing SAW Filters for Implantable Medical and AED Applications

It is safe to say that LED luminaires have become the mainstay technology for consumer and industrial lighting applications. While relatively
expensive, LED lighting is more reliable, more configurable, and uses significantly less electrical power for the same luminous output when
compared to its incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen counterparts.

When coupled with regulatory requirements for efficiency, the LED lighting market is predicted to maintain more than 12% year-over-year growth for the near term (“LED Lighting Market Share & Growth Report, 2021-2028”).

Figure 1: AC-DC flyback LED driver, source: KYOCERA AVX

However, the adoption of LED luminaires has been a long time in the making — it does not simply mean swapping out a lesser technology for an LED. Typically, numerous LEDs are required in tandem to replicate the luminous output of any competing light source.

These LEDs must be driven with a specific DC current and must simultaneously be cooled to prevent thermal damage. The supporting circuitry and mechanical ecosystem required for effective and reliable LED lighting are by no means trivial. One area of particular interest is the LED driver system that enables such a DC current mode device to run on existing AC mains power sources. The most common LED driver for running on AC mains power is the flyback converter shown in Figure 1.

Mosfets Q1 and Q2 control the energy transfer through transformer T1, and diode D2 rectifies the output to drive the LED or chain of LEDs. Because the LED is a current-controlled device, an additional current sensing circuit is required on the primary or secondary to act as feedback for voltage control. Capacitors E1, E2, and E3 are critical for voltage smoothing and proper power regulation.

Capacitors Selection

Referring to the aforementioned flyback driver design, engineers should choose capacitor E1 to be electrolytic to accommodate the high voltage and high required capacitance for smoothing the Input DC voltage.

The following characteristics are desirable and can be achieved with a standard aluminumbased device:

  • 5000 Hrs @ -55 ℃ ~ 125 ℃
  • Wide Voltage Range: 10~450V
  • Wide size range
  • Low leakage (DCL)
  • Low-cost

Capacitor E2, on the other hand, is providing a supply voltage for the control circuit and requires slightly different characteristics. The recommended
device is a polymer aluminum capacitor owing to its capacitance stability across temperature and frequency, low inductance, and low ripple voltage. A polymer capacitor with the following characteristics are preferable:

  • 5000 Hrs @ -55 ℃ ~ 105 ℃
  • 10 ~ 220uF
  • 16 ~ 125V
  • Lower ESR
  • Higher ripple
  • Stability over temperature
  • Longer life

For capacitor E3, either polymer or hybrid aluminum capacitors are suitable. Hybrid aluminum capacitors are a recommended product series for automotive lighting with AEC-Q200 certification because they offer low ESR and excellent lifetime and anti-vibration qualities. The following characteristics should be sufficient for the flyback output stage:

  • 4,000 Hrs @-55℃ ~ +125℃
  • 10 ~ 560uF
  • 16 ~ 125V
  • Solid and liquid electrolyte
  • Low ESR
  • Good temperature stability
  • Low DCL
  • Humidity resistance
  • Consistent self‐healing
  • Open failure

The following table summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of aluminum, polymer aluminum, and hybrid aluminum electrolytic capacitors:

Table 1 – Aluminum capacitor technology comparison, source: KYOCERA AVX

Reliability

One of the most important tradeoffs that compensates for the increased cost and complexity of LED lighting is its long lifetime and high reliability. When considering the luminaire as a whole, it is critical that the lifetime of every part in the system is as good or better than the underlying LED. This includes the flyback driver and most importantly, the electrolytic capacitors within.

Figure 2: Expected life of electrolytic aluminum compared to polymer aluminum capacitor

The method of wear-out for electrolytic capacitors follows an Arrhenius model just as in standard practice for most organic systems. Historically, the relationship for organic-based electrolytic capacitors is to double the lifetime for every 10°C reductions in operating temperature.

For polymer aluminum capacitors, the lifetime is significantly better than standard aluminum capacitors. This is captured in the following figure where the expected lifetime equations are compared.

One of the reasons that polymer aluminum capacitors last so long with graceful wear-out characteristics is the self-healing mechanism inherent to their construction.

As shown in Figure 3, when the dielectric breaks down at any point within the capacitor, the resulting current flow from anode to cathode creates a momentary but significant amount of heat. This heat reforms the polymer layer to create a new insulating barrier, cutting off the flow of current. This reformed dielectric region enables the capacitor to continue operating with only minute reductions in performance.

Standard, non-polymer electrolytics also offer some degree of self-healing. Because of the liquid electrolyte, oxygen is generated during electrolysis and can regrow a fault site due to dielectric impurities or micro cracks. This will reform the dielectric layer and reduce the leakage current. Over time, the liquid electrolyte will be depleted by this process and accelerate the normal wear-out stage of the lifetime.

Figure 3: Self-healing mechanism for polymer aluminum capacitors, source: KYOCERA AVX

High-Efficiency Aluminum Capacitors for LED Applications

While LED lighting has become the standard for efficiency and reliability, much of this success has been built upon the development and careful design of supporting circuitry and hardware. LED drivers, in particular, have stringent requirements for environmental ruggedness and wide voltage and current tolerances.

The electrolytic capacitors required to enable such characteristics must be carefully chosen for their electrical performance and lifetime. Aluminum, polymer, and hybrid electrolytics can be combined to balance their strengths and weaknesses in different aspects of the LED driver to realize a successful product.

Related

Source: KYOCERA AVX

Recent Posts

VINATech Expands Aluminum Capacitor Portfolio with Acquisition of Enesol

28.5.2025
20

Supercapacitors Benefits in Industrial Valve Fail-Safe Control Systems

26.5.2025
15

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Releases High-Capacitance MLCCs for AI Server Applications

21.5.2025
49

Würth Elektronik Introduces LTspice Models for ESD Products

21.5.2025
44

Capacitor Ripple Current Testing: A Design Consideration

21.5.2025
61

Developing Low Inductance Film Capacitor using Bode 100 Analyzer

15.5.2025
48

Würth Elektronik Releases High Performance TLVR Coupled Inductors

15.5.2025
41

YAGEO Extends Rectangular Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Family

15.5.2025
62

Dr. Tomas Zednicek Vision for Europe 2025 Passive Electronics Market

14.5.2025
56

Exxelia Power Film Capacitors Support Critical Systems Across Various Industries

13.5.2025
31

Upcoming Events

Jun 4
11:00 - 12:00 CEST

Würth Elektronik PCB Production in Asia

View Calendar

Popular Posts

  • Buck Converter Design and Calculation

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Flyback Converter Design and Calculation

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Boost Converter Design and Calculation

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ripple Current and its Effects on the Performance of Capacitors

    3 shares
    Share 3 Tweet 0
  • What is a Dielectric Constant and DF of Plastic Materials?

    4 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 0
  • VINATech Expands Aluminum Capacitor Portfolio with Acquisition of Enesol

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How to Design an Inductor

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • SEPIC Converter Design and Calculation

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • LLC Resonant Converter Design and Calculation

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Why Low ESR Matters in Capacitor Design

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter Subscription

 

Passive Components Blog

© EPCI - Leading Passive Components Educational and Information Site

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • EPCI Membership & Advertisement
  • About

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Knowledge Blog
  • Premium Suppliers

© EPCI - Leading Passive Components Educational and Information Site

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Go to mobile version