Polymer capacitors have long been the replacement technology for traditional tantalum capacitors. The use of a conduction polymer in place of the manganese dioxide or MnO2 cathode system delivers a number of advantages. By removing the oxygen rich MnO2 material set, the risk of an ignition is overcome in the unlikely event of a short circuit failure. The higher conductivity of the polymer system removes the greatest contributor of ESR in a traditional tantalum capacitor thus delivering very low ESR ratings. Traditional tantalum capacitors are associated with an industry recommended 50% voltage derating for improved reliability while polymer devices deliver the same levels of reliability up to full rated voltage. This improvement in voltage derating can result in the use of smaller case sizes or increased capacitance in the same case size. Finally, the combination of improved derating, lower ESR and advancement in design result in significant gains in capacitance for polymer capacitors resulting in reductions in total piece count.