Murata Introduces DE5 Series: Automotive Ceramic Capacitors with Higher Y1 Safety Certification

Murata Manufacturing has launched the DE5 series, a new line of lead-type disc ceramic capacitors for automotive use that have earned X1/Y1 safety certification, a step up from the X1/Y2 certification held by its existing DE6 series. Mass production is set to begin in July 2026.

To understand why this matters, it helps to know what the certification actually measures. Safety standard classes come from IEC 60384-14, an international standard that governs how well capacitors connected to commercial power lines can withstand voltage and resist catching fire, with the underlying goal of preventing fires and electric shocks caused by current leakage. Within that standard, X1/Y1 is one of several subclasses based on insulation type, and it represents the most demanding performance tier a capacitor can be certified against.

These kinds of capacitors are typically used on power lines to filter out electrical noise on commercial AC circuits, and they also show up in the on-board chargers (OBCs) of electric vehicles. Most OBC applications only require Y2-class certification, but designs that need extra performance headroom or a larger safety margin beyond Y2's 5 kV impulse test rating call for the higher Y1 class instead.

To meet that need, Murata redesigned the DE5 series to handle higher voltages than its predecessor. Where the existing DE6 series is rated for Y...