Solid‑state capacitors use solid conductive polymer as their electrolyte for conduction. Their conduction mechanism relies on electrons, delivering superior conductivity and overall performance. Meanwhile, they eliminate electrolyte leakage and protect other components on the circuit. At present, some capacitor manufacturers have launched all‑solid‑state electronic components, aiming to gradually replace traditional liquid electrolytic capacitors.

Luo Wei, Technical Director of Emerald, explained the conductive mechanism: the conductive medium of traditional liquid capacitors is comparable to a cup of chemical salt water, while solid‑state capacitors act more like a copper wire. Therefore, solid‑state capacitors will never suffer from safety risks such as explosion, combustion or electrolyte drying‑out that plague liquid capacitors. In addition, solid‑state capacitors comply with all EU environmental‑protection regulations.

In Luo Wei’s view, only solid‑state capacitors can completely eliminate the adverse impacts of electrolytic capacitors on the service life and performance of LED driving power supplies and complete LED lamps. “With solid‑state capacitors, capacitors will no longer become the bottleneck limiting power supply service life. Relevant tests show that solid‑state capacitors operate without any abnormality for 7000 hours at 125 ℃, boasting an extremely long theoretical service life.”

According to Luo Wei, Emerald solid‑state capacitors have been widely adopted in LED bulb lamps, computers, mobile phone chargers and other fields. “Solid‑state capacitors will gain increasing popularity in the LED industry. Especially after voltage‑rating breakthroughs, they will be applicable to a broader range of replacement scenarios.”

Qi Zhaoxiong, Technical Manager of Sunlord Electronics in Shenzhen, also recognizes solid‑state capacitors’ merits including long service life, high temperature resistance, high precision and excellent filtering performance. The company’s flagship solid‑state product is tantalum capacitors. “Different from ordinary electrolytic capacitors, tantalum capacitors adopt solid‑state materials instead of liquid electrolyte, and produce almost no self‑inductance under low‑frequency conditions,” he stated.

Qi Zhaoxiong noted that solid‑state tantalum capacitors are well‑suited for DC‑DC converters inside LED drivers. Nevertheless, he admitted drawbacks of limited capacitance capacity and unfavorable pricing. “Tantalum, the core raw material for tantalum capacitors, is an expensive metal, which pushes up component costs. Tantalum capacitors are generally used only in high‑end products insensitive to cost.”

Liu Yongpeng, Chairman of Emerald, also pointed out cost‑related market reality: liquid capacitors account for 80 % of the current market, while solid‑state capacitors merely take up 20 %. “Solid‑state capacitors currently cost several times more than liquid ones. We are working hard to cut costs, targeting a cost no more than twice that of liquid capacitors.”

Liu Yongpeng mentioned that besides delivering products matching client requirements, capacitor enterprises should guide customers to adjust component selection and exceed customer expectations. “In the future, we will guide customers to shift from liquid capacitors toward solid‑state capacitor solutions.”