# US 10,504,657 B2 · Lead wire configuration for a solid electrolytic capacitor

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- Number: US 10,504,657 B2
- Document ID: US10504657B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/810,518
- Filed: 2017-11-13
- Published: 2018-05-17
- Granted: 2019-12-10
- Earliest claimed: 2016-11-15
- Assignees: AVX Corporation
- Applicants: AVX Corporation
- Inventors: Ladislav Vilc; Ivan Horacek
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10504657B2

## CPC

- H01G 9/012: specially adapted for solid capacitors
- C08G 61/126: {with a five-membered ring containing one sulfur atom in the ring}
- H01G 9/0032: {formation of the dielectric layer}
- H01G 9/0036: {Formation of the solid electrolyte layer}
- H01G 9/028: Organic semiconducting electrolytes, e.g. TCNQ
- H01G 9/042: characterised by the material (H01G11/22 takes precedence)
- H01G 9/052: Sintered electrodes
- H01G 9/15: Solid electrolytic capacitors (H01G11/00 takes precedence)
- C08G 2261/1424: containing ether groups, including alkoxy
- C08G 2261/226: Oligomers, i.e. up to 10 repeat units
- C08G 2261/3223: containing one or more sulfur atoms as the only heteroatom, e.g. thiophene
- C08G 2261/512: Hole transport
- C08G 2261/516: ion-conductive
- H01G 9/07: Dielectric layers
- H01G: CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE (selection of specified materials as dielectric H01B3/00; capacitors having potential barriers H10D1/62, H10K10/10)
- C08G: MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS

## Abstract

A solid electrolytic capacitor that comprises a capacitor element, a lead wire, an anode termination, and a cathode termination is provided. The capacitor element contains a sintered porous anode body, a dielectric that overlies the anode body, and a solid electrolyte that overlies the dielectric. Further, the lead wire is in electrical contact with the anode body and contains a first region that is located in proximity to a surface of the capacitor element. The lead wire contains a core that extends outwardly from the surface, and an oxide layer coats at least a portion of the core within the first region.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A solid electrolytic capacitor comprising:
a capacitor element that contains a sintered porous anode body, a dielectric that overlies the anode body, and a solid electrolyte that overlies the dielectric;
a lead wire that is in electrical contact with the anode body and contains a first region that is located in proximity to a surface of the capacitor element, wherein the lead wire contains a core that extends outwardly from the surface, and further wherein an oxide layer coats at least a portion of the core within the first region, wherein the oxide layer is discontinuous and defines one or more gaps;
an anode termination that is in electrical connection with the lead wire; and
a cathode termination that is in electrical connection with the solid electrolyte.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the core contains tantalum and the oxide layer contains tantalum pentoxide.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the core extends in a longitudinal direction from a front surface of the capacitor element.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein an end of the core is embedded within the anode body.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the first region spans in a longitudinal direction from the surface of the capacitor element to a second region, and wherein the second region spans in the longitudinal direction from the first region to an end of the wire, and further wherein the first region is generally free of an oxide layer.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the oxide layer is from about 10 to about 1,000 nanometers.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the oxide layer covers about 50% or more of a perimeter of the core.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein a conductive material is disposed within the gaps.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the capacitor element further comprises a cathode coating that contains a metal particle layer that overlies the solid electrolyte, wherein the metal particle layer includes a plurality of conductive metal particles dispersed within a resinous polymer matrix.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the anode body includes tantalum.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the solid electrolyte includes a conductive polymer.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The capacitor of claim 11, wherein the conductive polymer has repeating units of the following formula (III):
wherein,
R7 is a linear or branched, C1 to C18 alkyl radical, C5 to C12 cycloalkyl radical, C6 to C14 aryl radical, C7 to C18 aralkyl radical, or a combination thereof; and
q is an integer from 0 to 8.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The capacitor of claim 11, wherein the conductive polymer is poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene).

### Claim 14 (depends on 11)

The capacitor of claim 11, wherein the solid electrolyte also contains a polymeric counterion.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The capacitor of claim 1, further comprising an external polymer coating that overlies the solid electrolyte and contains pre-polymerized conductive polymer particles and a cross-linking agent.

### Claim 16

A method for forming a capacitor, the method comprising:
anodically oxidizing a porous anode body to form a dielectric layer thereon, wherein a lead wire is embedded within the porous anode body that contains a core that extends outwardly from the anode body;
applying a solid electrolyte over the dielectric layer, wherein the core of the lead wire is also coated with the solid electrolyte;
removing the solid electrolyte from at least a portion of the core to form an exposed region; and
anodically oxidizing the core so that an oxide layer is formed on the core at the exposed region, wherein the oxide layer is discontinuous and defines one or more gaps.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the solid electrolyte is removed from at least a portion of the core using laser wire cleaning.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the solid electrolyte includes a conductive polymer.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the process of anodically oxidizing the core also includes reforming the dielectric layer.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising applying a cathode coating to the solid electrolyte that overlies the dielectric.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, wherein the cathode coating is applied after anodically oxidizing the core.