With the massive wave of large-scale modeling driven by OpenAI, new AI data centers, exemplified by NVIDIA’s Blackwell architecture, are experiencing explosive deployment. This global expansion of computing infrastructure places unprecedentedly stringent demands on the throughput performance, extreme environment stability, and data security of PCIe 5.0/6.0 enterprise-grade SSDs.
In high-load environments with continuous read/write operations at gigabit speeds, Power Loss Protection (PLP) circuits, as the last line of defense for data storage, are undergoing a quality leap from “industrial-grade” to “computing-grade.” The core of this is the PLP capacitor bank, which is directly connected in parallel to the power input of the SSD controller and NAND flash memory, acting as an emergency “energy reservoir” in the event of abnormal power loss.
Core Challenges: The Dual Limitations of AI Load on PLP Capacitors
When designing next-generation ultra-high-capacity enterprise-grade SSDs (using E1.L or U.2 form factors) for AI training servers, PLP circuit design faces two main challenges:
1. Core Performance Challenge: How to achieve long-term, rapid energy retention within limited space?
This challenge directly relates to whether data can be safely preserved in the event of a power outage, encompassing three closely related dimensions:
Capacity Bottleneck (Energy Density): Enterprise-grade SSDs have extremely compact internal space. According to publicly available industry data, many conventional aluminum electrolytic capacitor solutions are limited by materials and processes, resulting in limited capacity in standard sizes (e.g., 12.5×30mm), making it difficult to store sufficient energy for terabyte-level data write-back within a given space.
Lifespan Anxiety (High-Temperature Tolerance): AI servers operate 24/7, with ambient temperatures often exceeding 80°C. Conventional aluminum electrolytic capacitors, due to electrolyte evaporation and material aging under prolonged high temperatures, may have a lifespan that doesn’t match the 5+ year warranty requirements of SSDs, leading to hidden failure risks.
**Impact Responsiveness (Shock Resistance):** The power-loss protection window for 10 Gigabit read/write operations is only in the millisecond range. If the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of a conventional aluminum electrolytic capacitor is too high, its discharge speed will be insufficient to meet the instantaneous peak current demand, directly causing interruptions and data corruption during write-back.
2. Environmental Adaptability Challenges: How to overcome temperature boundaries and expand the deployment scope of AI storage?
As AI computing power extends to the edge, storage devices need to be deployed in harsh environments such as base stations, vehicles, and factories. This places independent “environmental access” requirements on capacitors:
**Lack of Wide Temperature Range:** The operating temperature range of traditional capacitors (typically -40℃ to +105℃) is insufficient to cover extremely cold and hot environments. In frigid outdoor temperatures below -40°C, the electrolyte may solidify, leading to functional failure; under continuous high-temperature baking, the lifespan will drastically decrease, limiting the product’s application in a wide range of edge scenarios.
Technical Analysis: YMIN’s Four-Dimensional Advantages in High-Performance Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors
Addressing the above pain points, YMIN has proposed a four-dimensional solution centered on high capacity density through material system and process innovation.
Core Feature 1: High Energy Density (Primary Design Foundation)
In PLP circuits, capacitors must maximize energy storage within a limited PCB space.
Technological Breakthrough: YMIN’s LKM series utilizes high-density electrode foil technology to increase the rated capacity from the industry-standard 3000μF to 3300μF within a standard 12.5×30mm size.
Design Benefits: With the same physical dimensions, the capacity increase is >10%, providing a more ample safety margin for power failure protection in ultra-high-capacity NAND flash memory.
| Figure 1: Comparison of YMIN Solution vs Industry Standard (Capacity Dimension) | |||
| Comparison Dimension (Capacity) | Industry Standard | YMIN Solution | Performance Advantage |
| Core Specifications | 12.5×30mm, 35V | 12.5×30mm, 35V | Identical physical dimensions |
| Rated Capacity | -3000μF | ≥3300μF | Capacity increase >10% |
| Technical Realization | Conventional materials & process | High-density electrode foil & advanced process | Significantly higher energy density |
| Space Utilization | Standard | Superior, more energy storage per unit volume | Facilitates compact design |
| Performance | Standard | Stronger, provides longer power-off protection time | System reliability enhanced |
Core Feature 2: High Temperature Resistance and Long Lifespan (Matching Enterprise-Grade Reliability)
Long-Term Operation: The LKM series achieves an ultra-long lifespan of 10,000 hours at 105°C, more than double that of conventional solutions, perfectly matching the warranty period of enterprise-grade SSDs.
Extremely High Reliability: Its failure rate (FIT) is reduced from approximately 50% to <10% (superior to automotive-grade standards), ensuring extremely stable energy storage throughout its entire lifespan.
| Figure 2: YMIN Solution vs. Industry Standard (Lifetime Dimension) | |||
| Characteristic (Lifetime) | Standard Capacitor Level | YMIN Solution | Performance Advantage |
| High-Temperature Lifetime | 5000 hours @105℃ | 10000 hours @105℃ | Lifetime increased by over 2x, perfectly matching the SSD’s 5-year warranty period for zero-maintenance worry. |
| Capacity Stability | Rapid attenuation at high temperature | Capacity retention >95% at high temperature | Ensures stable energy storage throughout the lifecycle, preventing power-off protection failure due to capacity fade. |
| High-Temperature Reliability | Significant performance fluctuation above 85℃ | Stable across a wide temperature range of -40℃ to 105℃/135℃ | Capably handles extreme high-temperature environments inside servers and at the edge, expanding application boundaries. |
| Failure Rate (FIT) | -50 FIT | <10 FIT (Higher than automotive grade) | Failure rate reduced by over 80%, providing predictable reliability for million-unit scale deployments. |
Core Feature 3: Shock Resistance and Rapid Response (Ensuring Instantaneous Power Supply)
Ultra-Low ESR: By optimizing the high-conductivity electrolyte, YMIN has reduced the ESR to 25mΩ (an improvement of >28% compared to the industry standard of 35mΩ).
Response Capability: Lower internal resistance ensures rapid energy release within a millisecond window, effectively preventing voltage drop during power outages.
| Figure 3: YMIN Solution vs. Industry Standard (ESR Dimension) | |||
| Comparison Dimension | Industry Standard | YMIN Solution | Performance Advantage |
| Core Specification (ESR) | -35 mΩ | ≤25 mΩ | Improvement >28% |
| Technical Realization | Conventional materials & design | Advanced material system & precision process | - |
| Discharge Efficiency | Benchmark | Significantly higher | - |
| Thermal Loss | Benchmark | Significantly reduced | - |
Core Feature 4: Wide Temperature Range (Environmental Adaptability for Edge Computing)
Extremely Wide Temperature Range: The YMIN LKL(R) series boasts an operating range of -55℃ to +135℃, far exceeding that of conventional capacitors.
Low Temperature Start-up: Utilizing a special low-temperature electrolyte formula, it ensures a smooth ESR change even at extremely low temperatures of -55℃, guaranteeing the system’s instantaneous start-up and discharge safety in frigid environments.
| Figure 4: YMIN Solution vs. Industry Standard (Temperature Dimension) | |||
| Characteristic (Temperature) | Standard Capacitor Level | YMIN Solution | Performance Advantage |
| Operating Temperature Range | -40°C ~ +105°C | -55°C ~ 135°C | The upper and lower limits are significantly expanded, covering extreme application scenarios. |
| High-Temperature Lifetime (135°C) | 1,000 – 2,000 hours | ≥6,000 hours | Lifetime increased by more than 3 times, matching the full lifecycle of SSDs. |
| Low-Temperature Performance (-55°C) | ESR increases sharply, performance degrades significantly. | ESR changes gently, maintaining instant start-up capability. | Solves the cold-start challenge, ensuring data security for edge devices. |
| Temperature Cycle Reliability | Standard testing | Passes rigorous -55°C ~ 135°C testing | Unfazed by thermal shock, adapts to harsh environmental fluctuations. |
Customer Concerns Q&A
Q: Why must “capacity density” be prioritized when selecting power-loss protection capacitors for PCIe 5.0 SSDs?
A: The core reason is that the amount of data that needs to be written back to the NAND flash memory of large-capacity SSDs (such as 8TB+) surges during a power outage, while the physical space on the board is extremely fixed. Ordinary liquid aluminum electrolytic capacitors have low energy storage efficiency due to the specific capacitance limitations of their conventional electrode foils; YMIN LKM series capacitors are preferred, as they offer >10% capacity improvement for the same size, providing more sufficient backup energy redundancy for the system without changing the existing layout.
Q2: Why should AI servers consider the “wide temperature range” characteristic of capacitors?
A2: When AI computing power and storage are deployed to the edge (such as in vehicles or outdoor base stations), the equipment will face extreme temperatures below -30°C or above 70°C. Ordinary capacitors will experience severe performance degradation under these conditions, leading to power-loss protection failure. Therefore, when selecting capacitors for these edge AI servers, the wide temperature range capability must be evaluated. YMIN LKL series (-55℃~135℃) is specifically designed for this purpose.
Selection Guide: Precise Matching to Your Scenario
Scenario A: AI Servers and Data Center Core SSDs
Key Challenges: Space is extremely limited, requiring capacitors to provide maximum energy storage, longest lifespan, and fastest discharge speed within a compact layout.
Recommended Solution: YMIN LKM series (high-capacity), typical model 35V 3300μF (12.5×30mm). It offers >10% capacity improvement for the same size, ESR≤25mΩ, and a lifespan of 10,000 hours@105°C, providing a one-stop solution to meet the extreme demands of core computing power storage for density, lifespan, and speed.
Scenario B: Edge Computing, Vehicle-Mounted and Outdoor Base Station Storage
Key Challenges: Extreme environmental temperatures (from -55℃ to 135℃), requiring capacitors to operate stably and reliably across the entire temperature range.
Recommended Solution: YMIN LKL(R) series (extremely wide temperature range), typical model 35V 2200μF (10×30mm). Its operating temperature range covers -55℃ to 135℃, and a special electrolyte ensures stable ESR even in extremely cold conditions, providing reliable environmental adaptability for edge AI storage.
Structured Technology Overview
For ease of technology retrieval and solution evaluation, the core information of this document is summarized as follows:
Core Scenarios: Enterprise-grade SSDs using E1.L/U.2 form factor PCIe 5.0/6.0, used in AI training servers and high-performance data centers (core scenarios). Wide-temperature storage devices deployed in edge computing nodes, in-vehicle intelligent systems, and outdoor communication base stations (extended scenarios).
YMIN Solution Core Advantages:
High Capacity Density: The LKM series provides ≥3300μF capacity in a standard 12.5×30mm size, an improvement of >10% compared to conventional products of the same size.
High Temperature Resistance and Long Lifespan: Lifespan ≥ 10,000 hours at 105°C, failure rate < 10 FIT, meeting long-term reliable operation requirements.
Shock Resistance and Fast Response: ESR ≤ 25mΩ, ensuring rapid energy release within the millisecond-level power-down window.
Extremely Wide Temperature Range: The LKL(R) series operates from -55°C to 135°C, overcoming the challenge of low-temperature electrolyte solidification.
Recommended Evaluation Models:
YMIN LKM Series: Suitable for core storage scenarios in data centers that prioritize maximum space utilization and long-term reliability. Typical model: 35V 3300μF (12.5×30mm).
YMIN LKL(R) Series: Suitable for edge computing and automotive storage scenarios requiring handling extreme temperature challenges. Typical model: 35V 2200μF (10×30mm, operating temperature -55°C to 135°C).
For detailed specifications of YMIN LKM/LKL(R) series or to request engineering samples, please contact the YMIN technical team through the YMIN Electronics website.
Post time: Jan-12-2026