Multilayer ceramic capacitors are the most commonly utilized capacitor type. They exist in different grades suitable for everything from cell phones to critical Space applications. Two aspects differentiate these capacitor grades, design and screening. Although high reliability capacitors can be electrically screened, it has long been recognized that this process is not 100% effective and other inspections have been required to maximize reliability. Ultrasonic inspection has long been the NDE technique of choice. Multilayer ceramic capacitors continue to decrease in size and dielectric layer thickness. As capacitor geometries become smaller and electrode counts increase, can this technique still be effective for production screening? Both ultrasonic and X-radiographic techniques for inspecting MLCC's will be addressed and DPA is used to verify the resultant indications. Recommendations will be made concerning the effectiveness of these techniques for new military documents centered on thin dielectric, high electrode count ceramic capacitors.
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