Major Degradation Mechanisms

The basic bilayer of all types of tantalum capacitors, tantalum anode, and anodic oxide film of tantalum as a dielectric is not a thermodynamically stable system. This is demonstrated by the tantalum-oxygen equilibrium diagram that does not contain two-phase equilibrium areas for pure tantalum and tantalum pentoxide]. Relaxation of the Ta-Ta2O5 system into the thermodynamically stable state occurs through oxygen migration from Ta2O5 to Ta, resulting in oxygen vacancies in the tantalum oxide dielectric. Conductivity of the dielectric and, thereby, DCL of tantalum capacitor increase exponentially with the concentration x of oxygen vacancies in the depleted with oxygen Ta2O5–x. Another reason for the thermodynamic instability of tantalum capacitors is the amorphous structure of the anodic oxide film of tantalum formed on crystalline tantalum. Amorphous dielectrics trend to ordering and crystallization spontaneously to reduce their internal energy. Growth of crystalline inclusions in amorphous matrix of the anodic oxide film induces mechanical stress in the film, which results in a disruption of the dielectric and, thereby, in the failure of the capacitor.