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© KEMET Electronics Corporation • P.O. Box 5928 • Greenville, SC 29606 (864) 963-6300 • www.kemet.com

S6011_FC • 3/7/2014

Supercapacitors – FC Series

Performance Characteristics

Supercapacitors should not be used for applications such as ripple absorption because of their high internal resistance (several

hundred mΩ to a hundred Ω) compared to aluminum electrolytic capacitors. Thus, its main use would be similar to that of secondary

battery such as power back-up in DC circuit. The following list shows the characteristics of supercapacitors as compared to aluminum

electrolytic capacitors for power back-up and secondary batteries.

Secondary Battery

Capacitor

NiCd

Lithium Ion

Aluminum Electrolytic

Supercapacitor

Back-up ability

–

–

–

–

Eco-hazard

Cd

–

–

–

Operating Temperature Range

-20 to +60ºC

-20 to +50ºC

-55 to +105ºC

-40 to +85ºC (FR, FT)

Charge Time

few hours

few hours

few seconds

few seconds

Charge/Discharge Life Time

approximately 500 times

approximately 500 to 1,000

times

limitless (*1)

limitless (*1)

Restrictions on Charge/Discharge

yes

yes

none

none

Flow Soldering

not applicable

not applicable

applicable

applicable

Automatic Mounting

not applicable

not applicable

applicable

applicable

(FM and FC series)

Safety Risks

leakage, explosion

leakage, combustion,

explosion, ignition

heat-up, explosion

gas emission (*2)

(*1) Aluminum electrolytic capacitors and supercapacitors have limited lifetime. However, when used under proper conditions, both can operate within a

predetermined lifetime.

(*2) There is no harm as it is a mere leak of water vapor which transitioned from water contained in the electrolyte (diluted sulfuric acid). However, application of

abnormal voltage surge exceeding maximum operating voltage may result in leakage and explosion.

Typical Applications

Intended Use (Guideline) Power Supply (Guideline)

Application

Examples of Equipment

Series

Long time back-up

500 μA and below

CMOS microcomputer, IC

for clocks

CMOS microcomputer,

static RAM/DTS

(digital tuning system)

FC series

Environmental Compliance

All KEMET supercapacitors are RoHS Compliant.