HW Interview
PC-02 · Chapter 1 · Passives & Components

MLCC field failure at cold

A product with a 100 µF ceramic output capacitor bank glitches in the field at −40 °C. What do you suspect?

Level●● onsite technical
TrackGeneral board
Really testingTemperature and DC-bias derating stacking up; loop stability that depends on Cout.
Full worked answer: in the book, page 14 — what to say first, how to explain it, the numbers worth quoting and the follow-ups. About the book →

Going deeper

Extra explanation that is not in the book: worked numbers, where people go wrong, and how to say it in the room.

Going deeper for this question is coming.

Errata

Correction: Z5U temperature range corrected to +22/−56% (only Y5V reaches −82%). Fixed before the first printing. All errata

Ask about this question

Stuck on a step, or think something is wrong? Send it with PC-02 in the subject. Good questions get answered on this page, and corrections go into the next printing.

Ask about PC-02

Related

← PC-01 Choosing a capacitor typePC-03 Ferrite bead selection →