In summary, factors such as temperature, circuit impedance, ripple, and mechanical stress can play a role in reliability and no single factor has more of an impact on the reliability of a tantalum capacitor than voltage. Derating will drastically improve both the long term reliability of the device and the initial power on performance. While components are proofed to rated conditions during testing, thermal stresses from the customer’s board mounting process will alter the breakdown voltage distribution. Understanding a component’s category temperature, category voltage, rated temperature, rated voltage and recommended application voltage will ensure optimal reliability and initial power on performance. Surface mount tantalum capacitors include both traditional MnO2 and polymer tantalum capacitors, with significant differences in their derating guidelines.