Development of Dielectric Films for Wound Capacitors

Modern pulsed power systems and power electronics demand high energy density, high reliability, and fast discharge speed capacitors that cannot be fabricated with commercially available dielectric materials. Current electrostatic capacitors usually have an energy density below 2 J/cc due to the limitation of dielectric material performance and reliability constraints. The bulky size of existing capacitor components severely impedes the miniaturization of many electronic devices, and capacitor components can occupy more than 30% of the device volume. Strategic Polymer Sciences, Inc. has developed a new class of hybrid capacitor film with dielectric constant above 6, dielectric loss below 0.5%, temperature stability above 125 aC, and dielectric breakdown strength above 500 MV/m and discharging speed better than microsecond. During the Phase II program, the capacitor film will be further optimized and the quality will be improved so dielectric breakdown strength above 600 V/fYm can be achieved. Rolls of capacitor film will be produced and metallized with graceful failure feature. Prototype capacitors will be developed to achieve a voltage above 4 kV and energy density above 5 J/cc at the packaged capacitor level by combining enhanced film self-healing capability, state-of-the-art metallization techniques, robust capacitor design, and high-density capacitor packaging.