BIAX FILM | MARKETS
A growing global market for capacitor films
The rise of the film capacitor is providing opportunities in the biaxially oriented films sector. Written by Susannah Owen and Nicola Charlesworth at AMI Consulting
The global capacitor film market is seeing in- creased activity and enjoying significant growth thanks to the rise in new energy and growing demand for electric vehicles and devices. Despite its highly technical nature and barriers to entry, a new wave of investment is sweeping across regions like Asia and India, as producers look to cater for rising demand and secure their market share. Capacitors are widely used across electronic
devices, from consumer electronics to electric vehicles (EVs) and power grids. They are passive electronic components, devices which receive, store and release energy, also capable of levelling, blocking and filtering a current. A capacitor is made up of two conducting plates which are separated by an insulating material called the dielectric. It is the dielectric which dictates the performance of the capacitor and gives rise to
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different properties. Materials can include glass, ceramic, plastic film, air, vacuum, paper, mica, and oxide layers, all offering their own performance parameters and suited to different applications. Ceramic and electrolytic capacitors dominate
the overall capacitor market, while film capacitors still only account for a relatively small market share. That said, the use of polymer dielectrics has been increasing due to their lighter weight, lower cost and a more reliable and longer-lasting perfor- mance. They also offer excellent processability for forming thin film with a large surface area. A polymer dielectric can be either plain film
wrapped with metal foil (typically aluminium foil) or metallised film, wound into a cylindrical shape with two terminals attached. Usually, to save space, the capacitor is then flattened and encapsulated, or in the case of stacked film capacitors, metallised films
October 2024 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 23
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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