AVX FlexiTerm Soft Termination System Guards Against Crack Failures.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Driven by demands from the automotive industry for more robust and more reliable components, AVX (NYSE: AVX) has developed FlexiTerm(TM), a soft termination system that allows almost three times the amount of board flexure when compared to standard termination systems. Further enhancing the capabilities of a standard MLCC, FlexiTerm was developed as an additional flexible termination layer added to the component to ensure electrical integrity is maintained when external forces are applied. This new high conductivity termination material was added to the AVX standard X7R dielectric ceramic capacitor to prevent failures in the system due to cracking.

AVX offers a guaranteed minimum flexure of 5mm, without internal cracks, versus the industry standard of 2mm. In addition, FlexiTerm can achieve 3000 temperature cycles as compared to the industry standard of just 1000 cycles.

"FlexiTerm is designed so that the capacitors will not crack under most extreme environmental conditions," said Mark Obuszewski, AVX product manager. "However, in the rare scenario where a board may flex beyond 5mm, FlexiTerm is designed so if there were to be a failure, it would be in the termination area and in open mode. This is especially important on power lines where failure could involve fire damage due to short circuit. With FlexiTerm, the open circuit occurs in a small area of the termination meaning little or no degradation to the capacitor's performance."

The ruggedness of FlexiTerm makes it an ideal choice for applications such as depanelization in high flexure stress circuit boards, variable temperature applications and automotive applications.

Pricing for the FlexiTerm capacitor (part number 0603YC104MAZ2A) starts at $0.012 in quantities of 100,000. For more information on AVX's FlexiTerm technology, contact AVX Sales and Marketing at 801 17th Avenue South, Myrtle Beach, S.C. 29578; by calling 843-946-0414; by fax [phone]; or on the web at www.avxcorp.com. Product brochures, sample kits and cross-reference on COSE and on-line are available.

AVX Corporation is a leading international supplier of passive components and connectors with worldwide manufacturing facilities, offering the world's broadest selection of passive electronic components and connectors. The company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AVX).