The following article is from Murata China Author Murata

From consumer electronics like smartphones and LED lighting to hybrid/electric vehicles, and even highly reliable applications such as aerospace and medical equipment, Murata capacitors are crucial electronic components.
However, there is a fundamental difference in the reliability philosophy between consumer electronics and high-performance devices for medical (especially implantable) and automotive applications. The former focuses on cost control, while the latter prioritizes reliability above all, striving for zero defects. Additionally, there are significant differences in operating environments, lifespan requirements, and evaluation standards.

Here, we introduce our company's strengths, the concept of medical device-specific products, and representative capacitor products for medical devices.

01
Murata Capacitor Series for Medical Devices
Murata offers a wide range of representative products for medical device-specific capacitors. Medical devices are diverse, and notable capacitor series specialized for "Implantable Medical Devices" and "Portable & Wearable Medical Devices" include:

• The GCH/GCR Series for implantable medical devices. These capacitors are used in applications such as deep brain stimulators, gastric stimulators, cochlear implants, foot drop stimulators, cardiac defibrillators, pacemakers, and insulin pumps.
• The GRM Series for portable & wearable medical devices, used in applications like ultrasound echo, electrocardiograms, and blood gas analyzers.

The following section primarily introduces the GCH/GCR Series for implantable medical devices.

02
Implantable Medical Devices — GCH/GCR Series
Implantable medical devices are diverse, including deep brain stimulators, gastric stimulators, cochlear implants, foot drop stimulators, cardiac defibrillators, pacemakers, and insulin pumps. The circuits within implantable medical devices can be categorized into life-support circuits and non-life-support circuits. Murata's capacitors specialized for implantable medical devices include the GCH Series and the GCR Series. Murata recommends using the GCR Series for life-support circuits and the GCH Series for non-life-support circuits.

Non-life-support circuits are used in implantable diagnostics, implantable medical rehabilitation, implantable nerve stimulation, etc. In these circuits, a malfunction leading to performance degradation or stoppage does not directly threaten human life.

Implantable Medical Devices
Taking a cardiac pacemaker as an example, such implantable devices must be placed inside the body, creating a need to reduce patient burden through device miniaturization (low invasiveness). The demand for miniaturization has been growing significantly in recent years. In response, our company has developed and commercialized multilayer ceramic capacitors that meet medical standards. These capacitors are specifically designed for implantable medical devices, featuring small size, high capacitance, and high reliability. This contributes to high-density design in implantable medical devices and supports their further miniaturization.
Murata subjects the GCH/GCR Series, specialized for implantable medical devices, to screening processes, resulting in an initial failure rate lower than that of MLCCs for consumer devices. Additionally, they are designed for extended lifespan. Specifications for tests like humidity load resistance and thermal shock cycling differ significantly between MLCCs for consumer devices and those for high-reliability equipment.

Murata Capacitors for Implantable Medical Devices: GCH/GCR Series

03
GCH Series Application Example — Cardiac Pacemaker
The diagram below shows a simplified circuit schematic of a cardiac pacemaker. C1 is the energy storage capacitor for the battery, C2 is the CPU decoupling capacitor, and C3 is the energy storage capacitor for the discharge circuit.

Cardiac Pacemaker Circuit Schematic

Here, we recommend Murata's GCH Series:
C1: Battery Energy Storage Capacitor
Operating Voltage: 1.8～3.6V
Rated Voltage: 6.3V～10V
Capacitance Range: 1～2.2µF
Murata Recommendations:
• GCH188R70J225KE01# (0603 / 6.3V / 2.2µF)
• GCH188C71A225KE01# (0603 / 10V / 2.2µF)

C2: CPU Decoupling Capacitor
Operating Voltage: 0.9～1.2V
Rated Voltage: 6.3V～10V
Capacitance Range: 10～47µF
Murata Recommendations:
• GCH188R60J106ME11# (0603 / 6.3V / 10µF)
• GCH188R61A106ME11# (0603 / 10V / 10µF)

C3: Discharge Circuit Energy Storage Capacitor
Operating Voltage: 10～20V
Rated Voltage: 16V or 25V
Capacitance Range: 2.2～10µF
Murata Recommendations:
• GCH31CR71C106KE01# (1206 / 16V / 10µF)
• GCH188R61C475KE11# (0603 / 16V / 4.7µF)

Murata's GCH Series is continuously expanding its lineup of small-sized, high-capacitance products to contribute to the further miniaturization of implantable medical devices.

Conclusion: Advantages of Murata Capacitors

The advantage of Murata capacitors lies in our continuous development capability.

The key to Murata's pursuit of miniaturization and higher capacitance is our dielectric layer thinning technology. We have established processing technologies that enable high-precision control of ceramic powder particle size and shape, as well as high-density and uniform distribution. Thinner, smaller, more precise. Murata will continue to develop cutting-edge capacitor products.

About E-Mantech

SHENZHEN E-MANTECH CO., LIMITED was established in 2014 with a registered capital of 10 million RMB.
Its predecessor was Shenzhen Hainengda Technology Development Co., Ltd., founded in 2005.
The company is committed to becoming the preferred trading platform for electronic components in the Chinese electronics industry.
Currently, it is a first level agent for Murata in Japan, an AVX agent, a Philips power agent, a KEC agent, a Prisemi agent for Xindao, a BPS agent for Jingfeng Mingyuan, a GPI agent for New Century,
a TELINK agent for Tailing, an SGX agent, and a WE smart agent. Our products cover fields such as communication, automotive, industrial control, medical, home appliances, lighting, power supply,
security, new energy, and consumer electronics; Our business covers regions such as Hong Kong, South China, East China, North China, Central China, and Southwest China.

Contact phone number: 0755-88352448 88352450

Official website: www.himantech.com

Official account: E-Mantech

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Email: service@hi-mantech.com

Address: Room 1601, Block A, Coolpad Building, Intersection of Baoshen Road and Keyuan North Road, Xili Street, Nanshan District, Shenzhen