Exxelia onboard Solar Orbiter

Exxelia is proud to be onboard Solar Orbiter which carries more than 16,000 of our passives to provide unprecedented insight into how our parent star works !


Solar Orbiter, a European Space Agency mission, was launched on an Atlas V rocket 411 (AV-087) from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:03 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 9 2020. The satellite reached its first working orbit around the Sun, called “halo orbit” and is ready to begin its first scientific observation campaign. The campaign will last six months, during which time the 55 payloads will be turned on one by one and tested before being used to perform scientific observations.

Solar Orbiter is a highly complex scientific laboratory. Deploying such a mission is a one-of-a-kind achievement! The mission will take years and is one of the most highly anticipated scientific experiments of our time. And you know what they say: your best work comes when you're up against the toughest challenges. Unfortunately, these challenges aren't only in labs, but also in space. To study the Sun and its activity like never before, scientists are sending a probe into orbit around it. Solar Orbiter will be facing temperatures of up to 500°C, which is usually not survivable for complex equipment. But do you know what's even more challenging than getting data from a 500°C hot solar environment? Getting that data with expensive equipment that doesn't work, because you don't have enough reliable components at your disposal! That's why we, at Exxelia, were so happy when we heard that thousands of our capacitors and magnetics were chosen by the European Space Agency to achieve this mission; we're talking about components that will keep working in those kinds of harsh environments! They will help scientists better understand energy flow and particle acceleration within our own solar system and beyond.

Shockingly, the Sun is mostly a mystery. We have some understanding of its composition, but it's unclear how the phenomena we see happen. Solar Orbiter is going to help us get a better idea of what makes the Sun tick by taking some of the most detailed images and observations of our star ever taken.

Among the instruments on Solar Orbiter are: a Wide-Angle Imager and a Coronal Imager. Each will provide high-resolution images—an order of magnitude higher than those captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory—and spectacular views of the Sun's polar regions. The Wide-Angle Imager will capture images in five wavelengths, while the Coronal Imager will use seven wavelengths to observe phenomena that affect the upper layers of the solar atmosphere, such as magnetic fields and plasma flows. Our capacitors and magnetics are critical for stabilizing and powering these instruments on their mission to explore our home star! They need to be able to perform in a very hostile environment with temperatures ranging from -150°C (-238°F) to 500°C (932°F). Temperatures will reach their highest during the closest flybys of the Sun—which will take place as close as 15 million kilometers (about 93 million miles) from its surface. Our space capacitors and magnetics are capable of withstanding such high temperatures. They'll even keep functioning in cryogenic conditions, as low as -150°C (-238°F). These components are also very durable, which makes them perfectly suited for this mission.

 

 

Choosing the right capacitors for such a mission was not easy. The requirements and technical constraints were very strict. We had also to support and select the materials that could handle the launch vibrations and the shock of the rocket launching phase, we also had to achieve a very long life and high reliability in order to succeed in the mission. This project proves that our EXXELIA components are incredibly reliable and have nothing to envy to other electronic components on the market. Several other tests have been conducted by ESA in this project such as solar radiation, thermal shock...

Exxelia ESA QLP Products Onboard Solar Orbiter :

14,400 CNC chips ceramic capacitors

14,400 CEC chips ceramic capacitors

520 of our CNC stacks ceramic capacitors

470 SESI QPL Inductors

380 MSCI RF Inductors 

287 ESA qualified CTC21/E Tantalum Capacitors

50 ESA Film Capacitors PM94

Publié le 17 Jan 2022 par Ali BARI

Exxelia à Space Tech Expo

ESA QPL Film Capacitors PM907S and PM948S are full series of Polyester Film Capacitors. PM907S products are suitable for voltages from 50V up to 1250V and offer capacitance values from 82nF up to 180μF. PM948S can be used from 50V up to 630V with capacitance values from 22nF up to 47μF. Both series can support extreme conditions with temperatures from -55°C to +125°C, and offer high energy density, low ESR & ESL and high RMS current. Film capacitor Series PM907S and PM948S are ESA QPL certified according to the ESCC Detail Specification No. 3006/025 and 3006/026   Smallest ESA QPL Ceramic Capacitor of the Market Exxelia ranges of low voltage MLCC for surface mounting, CEC19 and CNC19, have achieved the ESA Qualified Part List status under the criteria of the European Space Component Coordination’s (ESCC) 3009/042 and 3009/043 respectively. The  0402 size QPL-qualified parts are available from 10V to 25V, enabling substantial miniaturization and cost-saving. They are available either in the very stable NPO dielectric (type 1) or the high capacitance X7R (type 2). CEC and CNC series combine high capacitance values with high thermal and voltage stability. Versions with polymer terminations are also QPL-certified.   Miniature EMI filters for space application Exxelia’s gold-plated glass-sealed EMI filters SFC030 is the solution of choice to protect several embedded power supplies and data lines.  These small and reliable filters are available up to 5A @ 200V and 22nF.  Available in a Kovar package, the better alternative to steel for enhanced temperature cycling resistance, all Exxelia’s EMI filters for space are ESA qualified according to ESCC 3008. Thanks to this extensive experience in stringent ESA testing, Exxelia is able to adapt the tests of any filter according to any need (example: SMD 20A chip, 0pF capacitor value for an arrays of filters).

MML™ - la technologie de condensateur à film qui révolutionne les performances : plus de puissance, moins de poids

Découvrez la puissance de la technologie MML™ Les condensateurs à film les plus performants sur le marché avec la plus grande densité d&#39;énergie jamais vue ! Les condensateurs MML™ d&#39;Exxelia sont en train de changer la donne en matière de technologie de condensateurs en raison de leur densité d&#39;énergie incroyablement élevée de 400 J/dm³. Cela permet une réduction considérable de la taille et du poids par rapport aux diélectriques traditionnels, tels que la céramique X7R, le polypropylène ou le polyester, ainsi qu&#39;une température de fonctionnement plus élevée pouvant atteindre 140 °C et une protection contre les tensions transitoires. Cette densité d&#39;énergie élevée est rendue possible grâce à la finesse du diélectrique film utilisé dans la fabrication de ces condensateurs. Ce diélectrique est connu pour son excellente capacité à stocker de l&#39;énergie électrique et sa résistance aux températures élevées, ce qui en fait un choix idéal pour les applications nécessitant une grande puissance et une fiabilité à haute température.   En outre, les condensateurs MML™ offrent une grande flexibilité dans la conception, permettant facilement des configurations à profil bas (flatpack). Cela signifie que les ingénieurs peuvent désormais concevoir des systèmes plus compacts et plus légers, sans compromettre les performances. Cela est particulièrement important pour les applications telles que les avions commerciaux et militaires, les satellites et les lanceurs, où la réduction de poids est cruciale pour améliorer l&#39;efficacité énergétique et réduire les coûts d&#39;exploitation. De nombreuses études ont été menées sur des cas réels de commandes et de fonctions DC-Links pour des applications aéronautiques. Toutes ont montré une réduction d&#39;environ 50 % de la taille et du poids par rapport aux autres technologies de film. Le tableau comparatif avec les MLCC est encore plus flatteur, puisqu’il démontre entre 70 % et 90 % de réduction de poids, tout en ne montrant aucune dérive de capacité avec la tension appliquée et une faible dérive < 5 % sur toute la plage de température. Les applications utilisant des regroupements de MLCC empilés peuvent désormais être remplacées par une seule unité MML™ de taille similaire, avec toute la fiabilité accrue qu’offre l’autocicatrisation du diélectrique à film et son mode de défaillance en circuit ouvert. En raison de leurs propriétés exceptionnelles, les nouveaux condensateurs MML™ d’Exxelia sont parfaitement adaptés pour une grande variété d&#39;applications, notamment les alimentations, les DC-Link, les convertisseurs de puissance AC/DC/AC, les fonctions de filtrage de génération d&#39;énergie des avions commerciaux/militaires.  Demander des échantillons.    Caractéristiques et avantages :   Miniaturisation de la fonction : jusqu’à 50 % de réduction de taille par rapport aux autres technologies de film ; taille identique à celle des céramiques empilées. Légèreté : 50 % plus légère que les autres technologies de film ; 80 à 90 % plus légère que la céramique. Pas de dérive de la capacité en tension, stable en température (<5 % de dérive sur la plage de température). Capacités de 1μ F à 1000 μF  Tensions de 50 V à 1000 V  Température de fonctionnement -55 °C à +140 °C Hautement personnalisable   Obtenez notre livre blanc autour de notre condensateur à film MML Téléchargez dès maintenant notre livre blanc sur notre technologie innovante Miniature Micro-Layer™ (MML™), qui offre la capacité la plus élevée par volume pour les condensateurs à film disponibles sur le marché, en remplissant le formulaire ci-dessous.   Chargement&hellip;