News

Leak-Tight Lid Technology Improves Internal Resistance of Capacitors by 50%

February 05, 2018 by Paul Shepard

Schott has developed a pioneering solution to mitigate electrolyte dry-out in capacitors by using a glass seal (GTAS: glass-to-aluminum seals) for the capacitor terminals, replacing the organic sealing material.

Schott's GTAS lid technology enables higher capacitance, significant improvement of internal resistance over 50% and high temperature resistance of -40°C to +150°C.

While efficient and reliable, the performance of aluminum electrolyte capacitors is often limited by the design and materials used for the capacitor's housing.

Imperfect terminal seals, for example, can allow humidity intrusion or electrolyte dry-out, leading to deterioration in performance over time. To counteract these performance losses, oversized or even multiple capacitors are utilized - a necessary but less than ideal solution for cost and space management purposes.

Advantages of GTAS lid technology include (values depend on capacitor design):

  • High temperature resistance, from -40°C to +150°C
  • Elimination of electrolyte dry-out and humidity penetration into the cell housing
  • Reduction of capacity losses over time by up to 60%
  • Smaller capaciter designs
  • Increase of capacitance
  • Up to 20% reduction in electrolyte volume possible
  • Improvement of internal resistance by > 50% which enables a longer shelf life
  • Long product life

New designs of aluminum electrolyte capacitors, e.g. electric double layer capacitors are currently in development for upcoming application fields like electric vehicles, high power applications, renewable energy applications and many more.

These new application fields pose new technical requirements on the capacitor demanding higher or longer lasting performance. GTAS leak-tight capacitor lids can enable small and large capacitor designs to fulfill such requirements.

GTAS leak-tight, glass sealed lids can be customized for small and large can type aluminum electrolyte capacitors, such as: radial devices, axial devices, snap-in devices, supercapacitors and electric double-layer capacitors.

(click on table to enlarge)