What Is X2Y And Why Would I Use It?

X2Y^® technology, which was originally developed by X2Y Attenuators, LLC, is based on a proprietary electrode arrangement embedded in passive components that can be manufactured using a variety of dielectrics.

Using this innovative technology, Knowles Precision Devices manufactures high-performance multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) that we then use to create a variety of off-the-shelf and custom bypass and noise decoupling capacitors and electromagnetic interference (EMI) filters. Let’s look at how building these components with X2Y is different than using a traditional ceramic MLCC and the resulting benefits.

Using X2Y for Bypass, Decoupling, and EMI Filtering Components

While a traditional bypass capacitor is designed to have stacked opposing electrode layers inside, a bypass capacitor constructed with X2Y incorporates a third set of shield electrode layers. This design effectively surrounds each existing electrode within the stack of the two-terminal capacitor, creating a three-node capacitive circuit as shown in Figure 1. With this design, there are two additional external side terminations, resulting in a four-terminal device.