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Capacitor dimensions

Electrolytic Capacitors

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Capacitor Types | EEP

In the market, there are several types ofcapacitors that have been manufactured. Although all capacitors

work essentially the same way, key differences in the construction of different capacitor types makes anenormous difference in their properties.

Each capacitor type has its own set of characteristics and applications from small delicate trimmingcapacitors up to large power metal-can type capacitors used in high voltage power correction andsmoothing circuits.

The dielectric material between the two plates is the main elementof the capacitor that gives rise to the different properties of thedifferent types of capacitors. The type of internal dielectric, thestructure of the plates and the device packaging all strongly affectthe characteristics of the capacitor and its applications.

Some capacitors have the metal plates rolled up into a cylinder toform a small package which makes them look like tubes. Somecapacitors are sealed using an epoxy resin after being constructedfrom ceramic materials.

Electrolytic Capacitors

Electrolytic capacitors are high voltage capacitors which producehigh value of capacitance in a small component at the expenses ofwide tolerance in the marked value and the necessity of connectingthe capacitor so that one terminal is always positive. When very large capacitance values are required,electrolytic capacitors are generally used.

Due to their large capacitance and small size, they are alsoused in DC power supply circuits to help reduce the ripplevoltage or for coupling and decoupling applications. High-capacity electrolytic, also known as supercapacitors orultracapacitors, have applications similar to those ofrechargeable batteries.

Ceramic Capacitors

Ceramic or Disc Capacitors are manufactured by coating 2sides of a small porcelain or ceramic disc with silver and are

then stacked together to create a capacitor. They are generallysmall, cheap and useful for high frequency applications,although their capacitance varies strongly with voltage. Althoughsmall in physical size, they have high dielectric constant.

They are non-polarized devices and the exhibit large non-linear

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Ceramic Capacitors

Film Capacitors

Tantalum Capacitors

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Ceramic capacitors have multiple layers in order toensure that sufficient levels of capacitance can beobtained with a single capacitor package. Althoughother styles are available, the 3 main types of ceramiccapacitors include leaded disc ceramic capacitors,multilayer surface mount chip ceramic capacitors andspecialist microwave bare leadless disc ceramiccapacitors.

Film Capacitors

The most commonly available of all types of capacitorsare the film capacitors which consist of a relatively largefamily of capacitors with the difference being in theirdielectric properties.

They can come in an assortment of shapes and casestyles including wrap & fill (oval & round), epoxy case(rectangular & round) and metal hermetically sealed(rectangular & round).

Tantalum Capacitors

Similar to electrolytic capacitors, tantalum capacitors arealso polarized but uses tantalum within the constructionof the capacitor in order to provide extremely highlevels of capacitance for any given volume. Theyoffer a form of capacitor that provides a very highcapacity density.

They are available in both wet (foil) and dry (solid)electrolytic types.

Originally published atEEWeb

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