Tech Talk with Catalyst’s host, Tom Griffin, interviewed Steve Cole, the senior applications engineer from Johanson Dielectrics about their X2Y technology with solutions for designs with EMI noise issues.
When Tom asked Steve to explain a bit about the X2Y technology, Steve explained that there are two common misconceptions. The first is that X2Y EMI filters are commonly mistaken for X and Y AC rated safety certified capacitors, and as you’ve probably figured out, that is not the case. Even though they look almost identical to three terminal feed-through capacitors from the outside, one look at the inside and a viewer can see they are far different. X2Y takes standard electrodes of ordinary two terminal capacitors and engulfs them in an electrode shield structure. This shield structure is attached to the side terminals on a component labeled G1 and G2. This result lends way to a four terminal, three node component containing two matched capacitors in a package containing extremely low Equivalent Series Inductance (ESI).
X2Y filter capacitors service a specialized, patented low inductance design which highlights two balanced capacitors that are not affected by temperature, voltage and aging performance differences. Superior coupling and EMI filtering performance are offered by these components which basically negates parasitics and can also take the place of several capacitors and inductors which saves the user board space and also decreases the cost of assembly.
Advantages of the X2Y filter capacitors include:
- One device for EMI suppression or decoupling
- Replace up to seven components with just one X2Y
- Differential and common mode attenuation
- Matched capacitance line to ground, both lines
- Low inductance due to cancellation effect
Applications for the X2Y filter capacitors include:
- Amplifier Filter and Decoupler
- High Speed Data Filtering
- EMC I/O Filtering
- DDR Memory Decoupling
- FPGA / ASIC / µ-P Decoupling
Common Traits with Conventional MLCC:
- Same component sizes (0603, 0805, 1206, etc.)
- Same pick and place equipment
- Same voltage ratings
- Same dielectric, electrode and termination materials
- Same industry test standards for component reliability
Engineers using X2Y have reported that this product has resulted in their quietest designs to date! At the end of the interview, Tom Griffin announced that Johanson Dielectrics is offering a free customized X2Y sample kit to all of their Tech Talk listeners!
