Aluminum solid electrolytic capacitors using conductive polymer cathodes are promising passive components with high capacitance, low equivalent series resistance (ESR) and high thermal stability for applications in advanced power electronics systems. However, the working voltage of the aluminum solid capacitors is limited and does not meet the requirements of the power electronic systems. In this study, two approaches are introduced to increase the withstand voltage of the aluminum solid capacitors: introducing a highly resistive interface layer between a dielectric alumina layer and a conductive polymer layer and the development of novel modified PEDOT:PSS polymers.When a crystalline g’-alumina dielectric layer covered with a porous hydrated alumina layer was coated with a PEDOT:PSS conductive polymer, the breakdown voltage was ~500 V for the dielectric alumina film formed at 700 V. The dielectric breakdown occurred at voltages considerably lower than the anodizing voltage. However, the introduction of the simple hot water treatment after anodizing (post-hydration treatment) increased the breakdown voltage markedly, exceeding the anodizing voltage of 700 V.1 Cross-sectional STEM observation of the cross-section of the post-hydration treated specimen disclosed the formation of a nanovoids-dispersed layer between the dielectric layer and the hydrated alumina layer. The nanovoids-dispersed layer contained a reduced amount of polymer, so this layer is likely to be more resistive. Re-anodizing to convert the nanovoids-dispersed layer to a dielectric layer reduced the breakdown voltage to ~500 V. Thus, it is confirmed that the formation of such nanovoids-dispersed layer with high resistivity plays an important role in enhancing the breakdown voltage of the aluminum solid capacitors.Alkyl group-modified PEDOT:PSS conductive polymers were synthesized to control the crystallinity and conductivity. The crystallinity and conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS were successfully reduced by introducing the alkyl group, and we could confirm that the breakdown voltage of the capacitors was highly enhanced by using ethyl-PEDOT:PSS instead of commercial PEDOT:PSS. D. Quintero, H. Matsuya, M. Iwai, S. Kitano, K. Fushimi, H. Habazaki, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 16 (2024) 1737-1748. This study was supported in part by the MEXT-Program for Creation of Innovative Core Technology for Power Electronics (INNOPEL), Grant Number JPJ009777.
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