MLCC Capacitance Test Conditions: 23 of 24 Walsin Datasheets State the Frequency, 15 of 24 the Dissipation Factor, Checked for Germany

We read the General Electrical Data page of all 24 Walsin MLCC series approval sheets. 23 state the capacitance test frequency; 1 does not. 15 of 24 publish a dissipation-factor limit on that page and 14 of 24 an insulation-resistance limit. An MLCC capacitance test condition is what decides whether your bench number matches Walsin’s.

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Venatech Limited, an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong, holds 28 Walsin Technology (Walsin) datasheets, 451 pages. 24 of them are MLCC series approval sheets and they account for 354 of those pages. For this post we extracted the text of every page and audited one thing only: whether the document states the conditions under which capacitance, dissipation factor and insulation resistance were measured, and whether it states them where the part is specified. Every part number below is real. This is a disclosure audit of the documents, not a count of export columns.

How many Walsin MLCC datasheets state the frequency their capacitance was measured at?

23 of 24, on the page that matters. Every one of the 24 sheets has a page headed “GENERAL ELECTRICAL DATA” — page 3 on 20 of them, page 4 on 3, page 2 on 1 — and that is the page an engineer reads to specify a part. We checked all 24. All 24 state an a.c. test voltage in Vrms on that page. 23 of 24 also state a frequency. One does not.

What the General Electrical Data page states	Sheets, of 24	Sheets that do not
A.c. test voltage for capacitance, in Vrms	24	0
A capacitance test frequency	23	1 — 13_Soft_Term_Automotive_VT_VW80808.pdf
An ambient temperature for the measurement	24	0
A dissipation-factor or Q limit	15	9
An insulation-resistance limit	14	10
A dissipation factor or Q anywhere in the document	23	1 — 22_Feed_Through_FT.pdf

The test voltage itself is written as 1.0±0.2Vrms 112 times across the 24 sheets and as 0.5±0.2Vrms 24 times in 13 of them, for capacitances above 10 µF at 120 Hz. One sheet is different. 02_Ultra_Small_01005.pdf states its NP0 capacitance condition as 0.5~5Vrms — a 10-to-1 range rather than a single value with a tolerance — and that string appears exactly once in all 24 sheets. On the smallest parts in the catalogue, the sheet permits a tenfold spread in measurement voltage.

Which Walsin series states a capacitance test voltage with no test frequency?

The VT series — the one qualified to AEC-Q200 and to VW80808, Volkswagen’s own component specification, and the highest-value automotive credential in our library. Page 3 of 13_Soft_Term_Automotive_VT_VW80808.pdf carries this footnote in full: “Measured at 1.0±0.2Vrms, 30~70% related humidity, 25°C ambient temperature for X7R.” A voltage, a humidity band, a temperature. No frequency.

We then searched all 21 pages of that file. The frequency appears once, on page 16 — 13 pages later — as 1.0±0.2Vrms，1KHz±10% inside the dissipation-factor specification table, with a full-width comma. Every other X7R sheet in the set states it on the electrical-data page: 12_Soft_Term_Automotive_ST.pdf page 3 reads “X7R, X5R: Apply 1.0±0.2Vrms, 1.0kHz±10%, at 25°C ambient temperature.” The VT sheet drops the clause.

That matters because the condition is not cosmetic. A Class II X7R dielectric measured at 1 kHz and at 1 MHz does not return the same capacitance, and VT is a soft-termination automotive part a German tier-1 will put through incoming inspection. We have not seen this counted anywhere. Note also that we hold a full 21-page approval sheet for VT and the export returns zero rows for it, so no VT part number can be quoted or crossed today — see six MLCC series that return zero parts.

How many sheets publish a dissipation factor on the page where the part is specified?

15 of 24. On the other 9 the limit exists, but it is first stated between 2 and 16 pages after the electrical-data page, inside the initial-requirement column of a reliability-test row. We measured the gap on every one.

Sheet	Pages	General Electrical Data page	First page carrying a dissipation factor or Q limit	Gap
19_Soft_Term_SH.pdf	27	3	19	16 pages
11_Automotive_MT.pdf	29	3	14	11 pages
14_MG_Series_High_Reliability.pdf	23	4	15	11 pages
01_General_Purpose.pdf	21	4	12	8 pages
12_Soft_Term_Automotive_ST.pdf, 20_Soft_Term_SG.pdf	23, 16	3	8	5 pages
13_Soft_Term_Automotive_VT_VW80808.pdf, 21_Low_Profile_TT.pdf	21, 9	3	5	2 pages
22_Feed_Through_FT.pdf	9	4	never	—
The other 15 sheets	—	2, 3 or 4	same page	0

01_General_Purpose.pdf governs 8,467 of the 24,026 rows in the MLCC export, more than any other series, and its electrical-data table on page 4 has no dissipation-factor row and no insulation-resistance row at all. The NP0 spec — Q≥1000 above 30 pF, Q≥400+20C below it — appears on page 12. The insulation-resistance figure, 10 GΩ or RxC ≥ 500 Ω-F, appears on page 14.

22_Feed_Through_FT.pdf is the one sheet of 24 that states no dissipation factor or Q on any of its 9 pages. What its page-3 rated-value table does carry, per part number, is a column headed DC Resistance at 0.03Ωmax — and that is the figure the export puts in its dissipation-factor cell.

Where does the export’s dissipation factor figure actually come from?

From arithmetic, on the Class I parts. The main MLCC export, 00_ALL_MLCC_parts_combined.xlsx, has 16 columns and no insulation-resistance or dissipation-factor column at all, so the figure is filled on zero of its 24,026 rows. The enriched sample file 00_ALL_MLCC_combined.xlsx has both, filled on 18 of its 173 rows — our own count, re-run for this post — and two further columns, TCC and DC Bias 25, that are empty on all 173.

We then checked the 18 against the sheets. 11 are NP0, and on every one of the 11 the stated dissipation factor is the exact arithmetic reciprocal of the datasheet’s Q formula.

Part number	Capacitance	Governing sheet, page of the condition	Condition the sheet states	Dissipation factor in the export	Match / mismatch, export against datasheet
MT15N0R5C500	0.5 pF NP0	11_Automotive_MT.pdf p3 condition, p14 Q spec	1.0±0.2 Vrms, 1.0 MHz ±10%, 25 °C; Q≥400+20C	≦0.244%	Mismatch — the sheet publishes Q ≥ 410, not a percentage; 100/410 = 0.244%
MT15N100F250	10 pF NP0	same, p3 and p14	same; Q≥400+20C	≦0.167%	Mismatch — Q ≥ 600, and 100/600 = 0.167%
RF03N0R2A250	0.2 pF NP0	06_Microwave_RF.pdf p3	1.0±0.2 Vrms, 1.0 MHz ±10%; Q≥400+20C, same page	≦0.248%	Mismatch — Q ≥ 404, and 100/404 = 0.248%
01R5N100J160	10 pF NP0	02_Ultra_Small_01005.pdf p3	0.5~5 Vrms, 1.0 MHz ±10%, 25 °C; Q≥400+20C	≦0.167%	Mismatch — Q ≥ 600, and the test voltage is a 10-to-1 range
ST18B473K500	47 nF X7R	12_Soft_Term_Automotive_ST.pdf p3	1.0±0.2 Vrms, 1.0 kHz ±10%, 25 °C	≦3%	Match — a Class II dissipation factor, stated as a percentage
0805B121K251	120 pF X7R, 250 V	04_Middle_and_High_Voltage.pdf p4	1.0±0.2 Vrms, 1.0 kHz ±10%, 25 °C; DF≤2.5% same page	≦2.5%	Match — condition and limit on one page
FT21B103M500	10 nF X7R	22_Feed_Through_FT.pdf p3 and p4	capacitance at 1.0±0.1 kHz; insulation resistance at rated voltage	0.03Ω max	Mismatch — an ohm value in a percentage field; it is the sheet’s DC Resistance column
FT15X435M4R0	4.3 µF X5R	same	same	0.03Ω max, insulation resistance 25 M-ohmmin	Mismatch — same ohm defect, and the only insulation resistance of the 18 below 10 GΩ

So 16 of the 18 filled insulation-resistance cells read 10 GΩ or better, which is the floor the sheets set. The two that do not are both feed-through parts, and both carry an ohm value where a percentage belongs. A derived reciprocal is not wrong arithmetic — it is a number with no test condition behind it, presented in the same column as five measured percentages.

One more absence worth naming. DC bias is the largest single source of capacitance error in a Class II MLCC. We searched all 451 pages for the word “bias”: it appears on 7, and 6 of those are the test name “Biased Humidity” at 85 °C and 85% relative humidity. “DC Bias” appears exactly once, as a contents line on page 8 of 00_MLCC_Full_Catalogue.pdf. We opened all 12 pages of 00_MLCC_Application_Guide.pdf and the word “bias” appears zero times. For the measured derating behaviour, see MLCC DC bias and voltage derating.

Why does searching these PDFs for gigohm miss 280 of the 594 ohm signs?

Because the 28 documents use three different ohm characters and we counted every one. U+03A9, the Greek capital omega, appears 314 times in 26 of 28 files. U+2126, the dedicated OHM SIGN, appears 280 times in 15 of 28. And a private-use Symbol-font glyph at U+F057 appears 107 times, in both chip resistor sheets.

14 of the 28 files mix the first two. 11_Automotive_MT.pdf carries 24 of one and 32 of the other. And 01_General_Purpose.pdf — the sheet governing the largest series we sell — uses U+2126 exclusively, 17 times, with zero occurrences of U+03A9. Copy “GΩ” out of any other Walsin sheet, search the General Purpose sheet for it, and you get nothing — including the 10 GΩ insulation-resistance limit you were looking for.

The frequency notation splits the same way. Across the 24 sheets the 1 kHz condition is written 1KHz 40 times in 19 files, 1.0kHz 32 times in 20 files, 1.0KHz 4 times in 3 files and 1kHz 3 times in 3 files — 79 statements of one condition in four spellings. A case-sensitive search for 1.0kHz finds 32 of the 79. 1.0MHz appears 20 times and 1MHz 19 times.

What should a German buyer ask for before accepting a capacitance figure?

Ask for three strings, and refuse the number until you have them: the a.c. test voltage, the frequency, and the ambient temperature. On 23 of the 24 sheets all three sit together on one page and we will send you that page. On 13_Soft_Term_Automotive_VT_VW80808.pdf the frequency is 13 pages away from the other two, and we will tell you that rather than let you assume it.

1. Name the part number and ask which page carries its test condition. We hold 28 Walsin datasheets, 451 pages. Ask for the one covering your part number and it will be in your inbox, not in a brochure.
2. Cross the whole bill of materials in one pass. Paste up to 500 part numbers or drop your Excel or CSV into the free cross-reference tool, filter by commercial or automotive grade, and read every stated difference instead of a claimed match.
3. Check what is physically in Hong Kong on ready stock before committing a build slot — a dated snapshot as at 23 September 2026, not a live feed.

The full line sits on the Walsin MLCC page. We tell you what we do not hold. Nobody else will.

The short version

23 of 24 Walsin MLCC series approval sheets state the capacitance test frequency on the page where the part is specified; 13_Soft_Term_Automotive_VT_VW80808.pdf puts the frequency 13 pages after the voltage, the humidity and the temperature. 15 of 24 publish a dissipation factor on that page and 14 of 24 an insulation resistance; on 9 sheets the dissipation factor is 2 to 16 pages away, and 22_Feed_Through_FT.pdf never states one. Of the 18 filled dissipation-factor cells in our enriched export, 11 are the exact reciprocal of the datasheet’s Q formula and 2 hold an ohm value. Qualification stays with you — and so does the obligation to measure at the condition printed on the sheet.

Send us the MLCC lines off your German bill of materials and we will tell you, part by part, which page states the test condition, how far it sits from the specification, and which figure was derived rather than measured. And a question back: when your incoming inspection disagrees with a datasheet by 2%, do you know what frequency the supplier used?

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Frequently asked questions

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