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This is a worked example rather than a product announcement. The part is one that exists in our catalogue, and the point is to show how to evaluate a tantalum capacitor part number from the record itself — including the fields that are genuinely useful and the fields that are empty and should not be guessed at.
The part. AVX 07016-169KCHB, filed under <a href=”/product-category/capacitors-tantalumcapacitors/”>Tantalum Capacitors</a>. The full record is on its product page:
AVX 07016-169KCHB — product detail
What a tantalum part number tells you on its own. A tantalum capacitor ordering code normally encodes the case size, the capacitance and the voltage rating, and sometimes the tolerance and the packaging. The code alone is a starting point, not a specification: the same case code appears in different series with different ESR and different temperature behaviour, and the suffix that distinguishes them is exactly the part that gets dropped when a BOM is retyped.
The five parameters that decide whether it fits. Capacitance and tolerance against what the circuit needs. Rated voltage against the rail, with derating applied — tantalum capacitors are conventionally derated against their rated voltage, and the amount depends on the series and the manufacturer’s guidance. ESR at the frequency the circuit operates at, because ESR sets the ripple voltage and the self-heating. Ripple current against the actual ripple the circuit will present, since exceeding it heats the part from the inside. And the case size against the footprint and the available board area.
What to check before you commit. Whether the record states a lifecycle status. Whether a datasheet is attached, because the general guidance above is not a substitute for the numbers for this exact part. And whether the tolerance and packaging suffix in the quotation matches the one the design assumed — the most common sourcing error on tantalum parts is a substitution that keeps case size and capacitance and changes the tolerance grade.
How to use the record in practice. Treat the catalogue entry as the index and the datasheet as the specification. The record confirms the part exists, tells you the manufacturer and the category, and links to the properties the distributor holds. Everything that decides whether the part survives the application comes from the datasheet for that part number, at the operating conditions of your circuit.
The parameter statements in this article describe general tantalum capacitor behaviour and conventional derating practice. They are design guidance, not a specification for this or any other part number. Always confirm capacitance, voltage rating, ESR, ripple current, case size and lifecycle status against the datasheet and the manufacturer’s application notes for the exact part.
Need this part, or a second source for it?
Send the full ordering code, the tolerance and packaging suffix, and your quantity through our RFQ form, or contact us and we will confirm availability and lead time for the exact part.
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