Use this drop-down menu to jump to all the product news stories from the Spring 2010 issue of Murata Mail.
Download Murata Mail 24 (PDF, 11.7MB) 
Selected parts from Murata's popular chip NTC thermistor range are now available in versions suitable for conductive glue mounting.
The NCG18 series of conductive glue mountable thermistors is the industry's first. The parts feature exactly the same characteristics as Murata's widely used NCP18 series, meaning that when migrating to the new type, all the relevant circuit parameters can be maintained, saving design time and cost.
Conductive glue is a common method of mounting components in applications that demand reliability at high temperatures, particularly in automotive environments. It's also used in applications that cannot be subjected to the heat of the solder paste mounting process, such as LCD panels, organic EL and LED displays, and CCD devices, which are particularly sensitive to high temperatures.
There are initially two parts in the NCG18 series, both available in 0603 case size. The NCG18XH103 has a thermal constant of 3380K and a resistance of 10kOhm at 25°C, while the NCG18WF104 has a thermal constant of 4200K and a resistance of 100kOhm at 25°C.
Both dissipate 1.0mW/degC and feature operating temperature of -40 to +150°C.
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Murata has developed a 1608-size 10µF monolithic ceramic capacitor, the GRM188R61E106M, which is the world's smallest with a 25V rating.
ESD protection devices are critical components in protecting sensitive circuits in electronic equipment, such as mobile phones, notebook PCs/Netbooks, digital cameras and other consumer devices, from electrostatic discharge (ESD).
Compared to previous 10µF/25V models, the new capacitor is approximately 60% smaller in volume, contributing to equipment downsizing. Further, its capacitance has been increased ten-fold compared to previous Murata capacitors with the same case size, rated voltage and temperature characteristics.
Demand for high capacitance, high rated voltage capacitors with small form factors is increasing as these parts are used in LED backlight electronics for devices such as LCD-TVs, mobile phones and notebook PCs. The latest capacitor and materials technology was used to secure high reliability. The GRM188R61E106M's exact measurements are 1.6±0.2 x 0.8±0.2 x 0.8±0.2 mm. Its operating temperature range is -55 to +85°C.
Murata has begun shipping the latest version of its LBMA series Bluetooth® module, which at 3.5 x 3.5 x 1.0mm is the smallest in the world, 30% smaller than Murata's previous version.
Additionally, in the ten years since initiating mass production of the original LBMA series in March 2000, Murata has produced in excess of 500 million units, the highest cumulative production volume of Bluetooth modules in the world. The original LBMA Bluetooth module was 14 x 10 mm, so today's version represents a 90%reduction in footprint in the last 10 years.
With an approximately 90% share of the worldwide mobile phone Bluetooth module market, Murata leads the world in the production of Bluetooth modules, initiating the first successful mass production of Bluetooth modules aimed at the European mobile phone market in March 2000. This latest version of Murata's Bluetooth module technology has been produced to respond to the market's demand for smaller products, using the company's proprietary ceramic substrate, high frequency design/evaluation technologies, and miniaturisation expertise.
The Bluetooth module shipping today, part number LBMA43PQN, achieves high performance and high reliability through advanced high frequency design technology, plus excellent EMI resistance through the use of Murata's original packaging technology. The module uses Bluetooth Ve r 2.1+EDR, with sensitivity of -79dBm, output power 0dBm (class 2) and requires a supply voltage of 3.3V.
New high capacitance, conductive polymer capacitors expand Murata's already extensive product offerings.
Murata announces the ECAS series of polymer aluminum electrolytic capacitors. This is the first non-ceramic based capacitor product for Murata to be released into full production volume and is the result of Murata's purchase of Showa Denko K.K.'s (SDK) conductive polymer capacitor business. Polymer capacitors exhibit strong equivalent series resistance (ESR) performance compared to traditional electrolytic capacitors and provide similar characteristics when compared to multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs).
The ECAS series allows Murata to greatly expand its high capacitance offerings, giving customers a full range of capacitor solutions. Markets for the ECAS series capacitor include computer, digital audio visual and telecom for overall power management. The ECAS series has a resin molded case structure, utilizing multilayer aluminum foil for anode and solid conductive polymer for negative cathode. This surface mount design can be soldered using traditional reflow methods.
The offered capacitance range is from 6.8µF to 470µF with rated voltages from 2VDC to 16VDC. It is available in a case size of 7.3mm x 4.3mm with three different thickness options. The high capacitance value and low ESR lead to low impedance at high frequency (up to 500kHz) thus providing excellent noise suppression, ripple absorption and decoupling abilities on power lines. In addition, the ECAS series offers capacitance stability at high operating frequencies and high temperatures.
Unlike MLCCs, these capacitors do not exhibit capacitance drop with applied DC voltage.
The operating temperature range is -40°C to 105°C and all are RoHS compliant.
With the addition of the new ECAS series, Murata now provides a line of polymer aluminum electrolytic capacitors to complement Murata's existing MLCC products as well as a variety of ceramic capacitors in a wide range of voltages.
