are set out in the following sectional specifications: IEC/EN 60384-3—Surface mount fixed tantalum electrolytic capacitors with manganese dioxide solid electrolyte IEC/EN 60384-15—fixed tantalum capacitors with non-solid and solid electrolyte IEC/EN 60384-24—Surface mount fixed tantalum electrolytic capacitors with conductive polymer solid electrolyte Tantalum ore Tantalum capacitors are the main use of the element tantalum. Tantalum ore is one of the conflict minerals. Some non-governmental organizations are working together to raise awareness of the relationship between consumer electronic devices and conflict minerals. Market The market of tantalum electrolytic capacitors in 2008 was approximately US$2.2 billion, which was roughly 12% of the total capacitor market. Uses The low leakage and high capacity of tantalum capacitors favor their use in sample and hold circuits to achieve long hold duration, and some long duration timing circuits where precise timing is not critical. They are also often used for power supply rail decoupling in parallel with film or ceramic capacitors which provide low ESR and low reactance at high frequency. Tantalum capacitors can replace aluminum electrolytic capacitors in situations where the external environment or dense component packing results in a sustained hot internal environment and where high reliability is important. Equipment such as medical electronics and space equipment that require high quality and reliability makes use of tantalum capacitors. An especially common application for low-voltage tantalum capacitors is power supply filtering on computer motherboards and in peripherals, due to their small size and long-term reliability. See also Aluminum electrolytic capacitor Coltan mining and ethics Electrolytic capacitor List of capacitor manufacturers Niobium capacitor Polymer capacitor Solid aluminum capacitor (SAL) Surface-mount technology Types of capacitor References External links Capacitors