C0G MLCCs Offer Space-Saving Option Over Film Capacitors

Film capacitors are renowned for stability, low-loss characteristics, and negligible piezoelectric effects, especially in high-frequency and high-precision analog applications. However, high-voltage multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) can now match or exceed film capacitors in key areas, such as temperature stability, frequency response, and voltage handling. With their much smaller surface-mount packages, MLCCs are an increasingly obvious choice for many modern applications where space-saving is a primary design factor.

MLCCs built to the IEC C0G standard with Class 1 dielectrics are encroaching on applications traditionally served by film capacitors, especially where size and precision in resonant circuits or automotive electronics are important. C0G indicates a ceramic dielectric with a temperature coefficient of 0 ± 30 ppm/°C from -55°C to +125°C and is functionally equivalent to the Electronic Industries Alliance Negative-Positive-Zero (NP0) standard.

Kyocera AVX offers C0G MLCCs that provide an attractive option for designs requiring extremely stable capacitance with minimal variation over temperature, voltage, and time. They are suitable for circuits where component predictability is critical, such as timing, filtering, impedance matching, or resonant sections of RF designs.

Benefits of MLCCs over film

Capacitors that use plastic or polymer films as the dielectric provide excellent voltage ratings, low losses, and very stable capacitance over temperature, but generally they are physically larger and heavier than equivalent C0G MLCCs.

Demand for C0G MLCCs is surging to meet the needs of smartphones, tablets, laptops, and wearable devices, as well as automotive electric vehicles (EVs), advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and infotainment systems. Other top markets for these components are aerospace and defense, telecommunications, and industrial electronics, where capacitance stability is crucial to precision control and measurement.

Modern high-voltage C0G MLCCs exhibit highly stable temperature characteristics, with minimal capacitance change over a wide temperature range. This is much more stable than Class 2 MLCCs (e.g., X7R) and comparable or superior to many film capacitors (Figure 1).

Figure 1 : C0G capacitance is much more stable across temperature ranges than other dielectrics. (Image source: Kyocera AVX)

C0G MLCCs have extremely low equivalent series resistance (ESR) and equivalent series inductance (ESI) to favorably impact efficiency, heat dissipation, noise, and stability in power electronics, RF circuits, and modern high-speed digital systems. Additionally, they deliver greater efficiency as measured by high-quality (Q) factors.

Increasingly preferred where precision and reliability are critical, C0G MLCCs maintain consistent electrical performance over time and under environmental stresses such as temperature fluctuations, moisture, and voltage bias.

Kyocera closes the gap

In certain applications, rapid spikes in high current generate extremely high heat, causing the film cap’s dielectrics to soften and melt. This, in turn, reduces the capacitor's ability to dissipate heat via infrared radiation and accelerates thermal failure.

Kyocera and other manufacturers have significantly closed the gap with film capacitors in terms of performance, while surpassing them in size, integration potential, and reliability under automated assembly conditions.

Kyocera’s C0G MLCCs can replace film capacitors in many designs where footprint, weight, and automated assembly are priorities, such as in DC-DC converters, onboard chargers (OBCs), and precision signal chains in automotive or industrial electronics. With the availability of high-voltage ratings and automotive-grade reliability (AEC-Q200), C0G MLCCs provide a compelling alternative that enables higher capacitance and voltage in smaller, more robust, and scalable system designs.

In the past, product designers may have opted for film capacitors for DC-DC converters and OBCs because of excellent high-voltage ratings, low losses, and robust self-healing properties. Kyocera C0G MLCCs can replace film capacitors in EV OBCs by offering highly stable electrical performance under automotive operating conditions, smaller size and weight for compact designs, and improved efficiency due to low losses.

C0G ceramics offer one of the most stable capacitor dielectrics available, exhibiting no aging characteristics across a wide operating temperature range. This makes them particularly suitable for modern EV power electronics focused on reliability, miniaturization, and performance optimization.

Kyocera AVX's KAM Automotive MLCC series includes a wide range of capacitors differentiated by dielectric materials, capacitance ranges, voltage ratings, case sizes, and other factors. The company's C0G KAM MLCCs are favored in automotive applications that require stable capacitance and low losses—such as LED lighting, sensors, audio circuits, GPS, safety control modules, and touchscreens—although they are also suitable for non-automotive applications, including industrial power systems and renewable energy.

The Kyocera AVX KAM32LCG2J333JU (Figure 2), for example, provides exceptional stability with minimal capacitance change over temperature, voltage, and time. Compliant with AEC-Q200 automotive standards, this MLCC features a capacitance of 0.033 µF with a voltage rating of 630 V, suitable for high-voltage environments commonly found in electric vehicle systems. It measures 0.126 in. long x 0.098 in. wide (3.20 mm x 2.50 mm) with a seated height of 0.110 in. (2.80 mm).

Figure 2: A representative image of a Kyocera AVX MLCC. (Image source: Kyocera AVX)

Conclusion

When precision and stability are critical in analog, RF, or power supply designs, Kyocera’s C0G (NP0) MLCCs maintain near-zero capacitance change across a wide temperature range (0 ± 30 ppm/°C) and under applied DC bias. Performance consistency makes them ideal for mission-critical environments, including automotive, medical, and industrial applications.