Polymer Aluminum Electrolytic CapacitorsVR headset usage examples

Representing a fusion of the real world and the virtual world, XR (a collective term for VR, AR, and MR) has been evolving rapidly in recent years. It is expected to spread to a wide range of fields including medicine, education, and manufacturing sites in addition to entertainment.
Among these technologies, VR allows you to enjoy the virtual world by putting a headset on your head. These headsets are continuing to evolve as VR evolves. Various ways are being devised to allow users to immerse themselves in the VR world even more dynamically such as with products equipped with high-performance displays internally and focus adjustment functions.

More components are becoming necessary for VR headsets with the enhancement of functions like video processing. On the other hand, users enjoy the virtual world by moving their heads up and down and to the left and right. Therefore, there is a need for small headsets that can be used for long period of time without causing feelings of fatigue. Furthermore, there must be no danger in the event of a failure; safety is important.

In summary, the following kinds of performance are required of the components equipped to VR headsets.

Murata's polymer capacitors have low ESR, low impedance, and have a high capacity.
Additionally, they are superior for their ripple absorption, smoothing, and transient response performances since there is no DC bias characteristic for capacitance and the temperature characteristic is stable.
Therefore, it is optimal for smoothing purposes in the input/output stage of power circuits and as backup for load fluctuation around the CPU.
This contributes to reducing the number of parts as well as the size of the circuit board area.
Furthermore, there are the advantages of no acoustic noise and no risk of fire breaking out in the event of a short circuit. Accordingly, they are ideal as capacitors that solve challenges specific to headsets.

They work effectively in stabilization between the battery and power management IC (PMIC) and when supplying power to various driver ICs.

The ECAS series has larger capacitance and no voltage dependence compared to MLCC, so the number of components can be reduced to achieve a smaller set in applications currently using large numbers of MLCC.

The ECAS series features lower profile components compared to can-type aluminum electrolytic capacitors. This means they can contribute to making products thinner and more lightweight.

The main failure mode in the ECAS series is the open mode due to aging.

Reference: Failures and life

ECAS series capacitors burn less readily than tantalum capacitors, resulting in extremely low risk of ignition if a short occurs due to accidental failure.

The ECAS series uses materials that produce less acoustic noise compared with MLCC, contributing to a reduction in environmental noise.