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Types of capacitor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Practical capacitors are often classified according to the material used as the dielectric, with the dielectrics divided into two broad categories: bulk insulators and metal-oxide films (in capacitors known as electrolytic capacitors).
Contents
[hide]

o o

1 Capacitor construction 2 Types of dielectric 3 Fixed capacitor comparisons 4 Volumetric efficiency 5 Variable capacitors 6 Non-ideal properties of practical capacitors 6.1 Breakdown voltage 6.2 Q factor, dissipation

and tan-delta

o
(ESR)

6.3 Equivalent series resistance

6.4 Equivalent series

inductance (ESL)

o
current

6.5 Maximum voltage and

o o o
(soakage)

6.6 Temperature dependence 6.7 Aging 6.8 Dielectric absorption

o o o o

6.9 Voltage non-linearities 6.10 Leakage 7 Component values and identification 7.1 Standard values 7.2 Capacitor markings 7.2.1 Numerical

markings


8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

7.2.2 Colour coding

[edit]Capacitor

construction

Structure of a surface mount (SMT) film capacitor.

Capacitors have thin conducting plates (usually made of metal), separated by a layer of dielectric, then stacked or rolled to form a compact device. Many types of capacitors are available commercially, with capacitance ranging from the picofarad, microfarad range to more than a farad, and voltage ratings up to hundreds of kilovolts. In general, the higher the capacitance and voltage rating, the larger the physical size of the capacitor and the higher the cost. Tolerances in capacitance value for discrete capacitors are usually specified as a percentage of the nominal value; they range from 50% or -20%/+100% for some electrolytic types to less than 1% for precision components. Another figure of merit for capacitors is stability with respect to time and temperature, sometimes called drift. Variable capacitors are usually less stable than most fixed types. The electrodes need rounded edges to avoid field electron emission. Air has a low breakdown voltage, so any air inside a capacitor - especially at plate edges - will reduce the voltage rating. Even closed air bubbles in the insulator or between the insulator and the electrode lead to gas discharge, particularly in AC or high frequency applications. Groups of identically constructed capacitor elements are often

connected in series for operation at higher voltage. High voltage capacitors need large, smooth, and round terminals to prevent corona discharge.

[edit]Types

of dielectric

Capacitor

Polarized Capacitor

Variable Capacitor

Capacitor symbols
Air-gap: air-gap capacitors have a low dielectric loss. Large-valued, tunable capacitors that can

be used for resonating HF antennas can be made this way.

Ceramic: the main differences between ceramic dielectric types are the temperature coefficient

of capacitance, and the dielectric loss. C0G and NP0 (negative-positive-zero, i.e. 0) dielectrics have the lowest losses, and are used in filters, as timing elements, and for balancing crystal oscillators. Ceramic capacitors tend to have low inductance because of their small size. NP0 refers to the shape of the capacitor's temperature coefficient graph (how much the capacitance changes with temperature). NP0 means that the graph is flat and the device is not affected by temperature changes.

C0G or NP0: typically 1 pF to 100 nF, 5%. High tolerance and good temperature

performance. Larger and more expensive.

X7R: typically 100 pF to 22 F, 10%. Good for non-critical coupling, timing applications.

Subject to microphonics. Temperature up to 125 C.

C.

X8R: typically 100 pF to 10 F, 25-100 V, 5-10%. Good for high temperature up to 150

Z5U or 2E6: typically 1 nF to 10 F, 20%. Good for bypass, coupling applications. Low

price and small size. Subject to microphonics.

Ceramic chip: 1% accurate, values up to about 1 F, typically made from Lead

zirconate titanate (PZT) ferroelectric ceramic

Gimmick: these capacitors are made by twisting together 2 pieces of insulated wire. Values

usually range from 3 pF to 15 pF. Usually used in homemade VHF circuits for oscillation feedback.

Trimmer: these capacitors have one or more rotating plates, which are rotated to change the

capacitance, separated from fixed plate(s) by a dielectric medium, which may be air. They are similar in many ways to variable capacitors, but are much smaller and usually designed for rarelychanged screwdriver adjustment during calibration or configuration. Alternatively capacitance can be changed by changing the distance between plates: compression trimmers. Typically values range from 5 to 60 pF.

Glass: used to form extremely stable, reliable capacitors. Paper: common in antique radio equipment, paper dielectric and aluminum foil layers rolled into

a cylinder and sealed with wax. Low values up to a few F, working voltage up to several hundred volts, oil-impregnated bathtub types to 5 kV used for motor starting and high-voltage power supplies, and up to 25 kV for large oil-impregnated energy discharge types.

Polycarbonate: good for filters, low temperature coefficient, good aging, expensive. Polyester, (PET film): (from about 1 nF to 10 F) signal capacitors, integrators. Polystyrene: (usually in the picofarad range) stable signal capacitors. Polypropylene: low-loss, high voltage, resistant to breakdown, signal capacitors. PTFE or Teflon: higher performing and more expensive than other plastic dielectrics. Silver mica: These are fast and stable for HF and low VHF RF circuits, but expensive. Electrolytic capacitors use a wet electrolyte in a sealed enclosure, and have a larger

capacitance per unit volume than other types, making them valuable in relatively high-current and low-frequency electrical circuits, e.g. in power-supply filters or as coupling capacitors in audio amplifiers.

Polymer (OS-CON, OC-CON) capacitors are essentially electrolytic in operation, but use a solid

conductive polymer (or polymerized organic semiconductor) as electrolyte and offer longer life and lower ESR at higher cost than standard electrolytic capacitors.

Double-layer capacitors, also known as supercapacitors or ultracapacitors, have extremely

high capacitance with low operating voltage, with charge storage applications similar to those of rechargeable batteries, e.g. in electrically powered vehicles.

Printed circuit board: metal conductive areas in different layers of a multi-layer printed circuit

board can act as a highly stable capacitor. It is common industry practice to fill unused areas of one

PCB layer with the ground conductor and another layer with the power conductor, forming a large distributed capacitor between the layers.

In integrated circuits, small capacitors can be formed through appropriate patterns of

metallization on an isolating substrate.

Vacuum: vacuum variable capacitors are generally expensive, housed in a glass or ceramic

body, typically rated for 5-30 kV. Typically used in high power RF transmitters because the dielectric has virtually no loss and is self-healing. May be fixed or adjustable.

[edit]Fixed

capacitor comparisons
Dielectric used Features/applications Disadvantages

Capacitor type

Paper

Large size. Also, paper is highlyhygroscopic, Impregnated paper was absorbing moisture from extensively used for older the atmosphere despite capacitors, using wax, oil, or plastic enclosures and epoxy as an impregnant. OilPaper or oil-impregnated impregnates. Absorbed Kraft paper capacitors are still paper moisture degrades used in certain high performance by increasing voltage applications. Has mostly dielectric losses (power been replaced by plastic film factor) and capacitors. decreasing insulationresista nce.

Metalizedpaper

Paper

Comparatively smaller in size than paper-foil capacitors

Suitable only for lower current applications. Has been largely superseded by metalized film capacitors

PET film (KT, Polyester film "greencap", Mylar)

Smaller in size when compared to paper or polypropylene capacitors of comparable specifications. May use plates of foil, metalized film, or a combination. PET film capacitors have almost completely replaced paper capacitors for most DC electronic applications. Operating voltages up to 60 kV DC and operating temperatures up to 125 C. Low moisture absorption.

Temperature stability is poorer than paper capacitors. Usable at low (AC power) frequencies, but inappropriate forRF applications due to excessive dielectric heating.

Polystyrene (KS)

Polystyrene

Excellent general purpose plastic film capacitor. Excellent stability, low moisture pick-up and a slightly Maximum operating negative temperature temperature is limited to coefficient that can be used to about 85 C. Comparatively match the positive temperature bigger in size. co-efficient of other components. Ideal for low power RF and precision analog applications

Polycarbonate plastic film (KC)

Polycarbonate

Superior insulation resistance, dissipation factor, and dielectric absorption versus polystyrene capacitors. Moisture Maximum operating pick-up is less, with about 80 temperature limited to about ppm temperature coefficient. 125 C. Can use full operating voltage across entire temperature range (55 C to 125 C)

Polypropylene plastic film (KP = Polypropylene foil, MKP = [a] metalized )

Extremely low dissipation factor, higher dielectric strength than polycarbonate and polyester films, low moisture absorption, and high insulation resistance. May use plates of foil, metalized film, or a combination. Film is compatible with self-healing More susceptible to damage technology to improve from transient over-voltages reliability. Usable in high or voltage reversals than frequency applications and high oil-impregnated Kraft paper frequency high power for pulsed power energy applications such asinduction discharge applications. heating (often combined with water-cooling) due to very low dielectric losses. Larger value and higher voltage types from 1 to 100 F at up to 440 V AC are used as run capacitors in some types of single phase electric motors.

Polysulphone plastic film

Polysulfone

Similar to polycarbonate. Can withstand full voltage at comparatively higher Very limited availability temperatures. Moisture pick-up and higher cost is typically 0.2%, limiting its stability.

Lowest loss solid dielectric. Operating temperatures up to PTFE fluorocarbon 250 C, extremely high Polytetra- fluoroethylene (TEFLON) film insulation resistance, and good stability. Used in stringent, mission-critical applications

Large size (due to low dielectric constant), and higher cost than other film capacitors.

Polyamide plastic Polyamide film

Operating temperatures of up to 200 C. High insulation Large size and high cost. resistance, good stability and low dissipation factor.

Metalized plastic film (MKT = Polyester orPolycarbonat polyester,[b]MKC = e polycarbonate)

Reliable and significantly Thin plates limit smaller in size. Thin metalization maximum currentcarrying can be used to advantage by capability. making capacitors "self healing".

Stacked plate mica Mica

Unless properly sealed, susceptible to moisture pick-up, which will increase mica capacitors use inert mica as the power factor and the dielectric. It does not change decrease insulation with age and it has good resistance. Higher cost due temperature stability. It is very to scarcity of high-grade resistant to corona damage dielectric material and manually intensive assembly.

Metalized mica or Mica silver mica

Silver mica capacitors have the above mentioned advantages. In Higher cost addition, they have much reduced moisture infiltration.

Glass

Glass

Similar to Mica Capacitors. Stability and frequency characteristics are better than silver mica capacitors. Ultra-reliable, ultra-stable, and resistant to nuclear radiation.

High cost.

Class-I temperature Mixture of Low cost and small size, compensating type complexTitanate compou excellent ceramic nds high frequency characteristics and good reliability. Predictable linear capacitance ch

Capacitance changes with change in applied voltage, with frequency and with aging effects.

ange with operating temperature. Available in voltages up to 15 kV.

Class-II high Barium titanate based dielectric strength dielectrics type ceramic

Not as stable as Class-I type Smaller than Class-I type due to with respect to temperature, higher dielectric strength of and capacitance changes ceramics used. Available in significantly with applied voltages up to 50 kV. voltage.

Aluminum electrolytic

Aluminum oxide

Dielectric leakage is high, large internal resistance and inductance limits high Very large capacitance to frequency performance, volume ratio, inexpensive, poor low temperature polarized. Primary applications stability and are as smoothing and reservoir loosetolerances. May vent capacitors in power supplies. or burst whenoverloaded or overheated. Limited to about 500 volts.

Tantalum electrolytic

Tantalum oxide

Large capacitance to volume Higher cost than aluminum ratio, smaller size, good stability, electrolytic capacitors. wide operating temperature Voltage limited to about 50 range, long reliable operating V. Explodes quite violently life. Extensively used in when voltage rating, current miniaturized equipment and rating, or slew rates are computers. Available in exceeded, or when a both polarized and unpolarized polarized version is varieties. subjected to reverse voltage.

Polymer capacitor

Aluminum oxide,Tantalum oxide

Uses special conductive polymer or polymerized organic semiconductor as solid electrolyte. 50000 hours life at 85 C. ESR is lower than wetelectrolytic of same value, and stable under varying temperature. Do not explode.

Higher cost than wetelectrolytic capacitors. Voltage limited to about 35 V. At 105 C lifetime same as wet-electrolytic.

Lithium ion capacitor

Lithium ion

The lithium ion capacitors have a New technology. higher power density as compared to batteries and LICs are safer in use than LIBs in which thermal runaway reactions may occur. Compared to an electric double-layer

capacitor (EDLC), the LIC has a higher output voltage. They both have similar power densities, but energy density of an LIC is much higher.

Electrolytic doublelayer capacitors Thin Electrolyte layer (EDLC)Supercapac and Activated Carbon itor

Extremely large capacitance to volume ratio, small size, low ESR. Available in hundreds, or thousands, of farads. A relatively new capacitor technology. Often used to temporarily provide power to equipment during battery replacement. Can rapidly absorb and deliver larger Relatively high cost. currents than batteries during charging and discharging, making them valuable for hybrid vehicles. Polarized, low operating voltage (volts per capacitor cell). Groups of cells are stacked to provide higher overall operating voltage.

Alternating current Oil-impregnated paper oil-filled

Usually PET or polypropylene film dielectric. Primarily designed to provide very large capacitance for industrial AC applications to withstand large currents and high Limited to low frequency peak voltages atpower applications due to high line frequencies. The dielectric losses at higher applications include frequencies. AC motor starting and running, phasesplitting, power factor correction, voltage regulation, control equipment, etc.

Primarily designed for DC applications such Direct current oil- Paper or Paper-polyester as filtering, bypassing, coupling, filled film combination arc suppression, voltage doubling, etc...

Operating voltage rating must bederated as per the curve supplied by the manufacturer if the DC contains ripple. Physically larger than polymer dielectric counterparts.

Energy storage

Kraft capacitor paper

Designed specifically for

Physically large and heavy.

intermittent duty, high current discharge applications. More impregnated tolerant of voltage reversal than withelectrical grade casto many polymer dielectrics. r oil or similar high Typical applications dielectric constant fluid, include pulsed with extended foil plates power,electromagnetic forming, pulsed lasers, Marx generators, and pulsed welders.

Significantly lower energy density than polymer dielectric systems. Not selfhealing. Device may fail catastrophically due to high stored energy.

Niobium oxide

Niobium oxide is used in capacitors where a layer of Nb2O5 is formed . around NbO grains as the dielectric.

Vacuum

Extremely low loss. Used for high voltage high Vacuum capacitors use power RF applications, such as highly evacuated glass or transmitters and induction Very high cost, fragile, ceramic chamber with heating where even a small physically large, and concentric cylindrical amount of dielectric loss would relatively low capacitance. electrodes. cause excessive heating. Can be self-healing if arc-over current is limited.

1. 2.

^ German: Metallisierter Kunststoff Polypropylen ^ From German: metallisierter kunststoff polyester, with the T taken from polyester to

differentiate from MKP for polypropylene

Example types of capacitors

A 12 pF, 20 kV fixed vacuum dielectric capacitor

Two 8 F, 525 V paper electrolytic capacitors in a 1930s radio.[1]

[edit]Volumetric

efficiency

Capacitor volumetric efficiency increased from 1970 to 2005 (click image to enlarge)

In electronics, volumetric efficiency measures the performance of some electronic function per unit volume, usually in as small a space as possible. This is desirable since advanced designs need to cram increasing functionality into smaller packages, for example, maximizing the energy stored in a battery powering a cellphone. Besides energy storage in batteries, the concept of volumetric efficiency appears in design and application of capacitors, where the "CV product" is a figure of merit calculated by multiplying the capacitance (C) by the maximum voltage rating (V), divided by the volume. In the time period from 1970 to 2005, capacitor volumetric efficiencies have improved dramatically. Some types of capacitors have improved much faster than others, allowing their use in new applications and in markets previously dominated by other designs.

[edit]Variable

capacitors

Main article: Variable capacitor Variable capacitors may have their capacitance intentionally and repeatedly changed over the life of the device. They include capacitors that use a mechanical construction to change the distance between the

plates, or the amount of plate surface area which overlaps, and variable capacitance diodes that change their capacitance as a function of the applied reverse bias voltage. Variable capacitance is also used in sensors for physical quantities, including microphones, pressure and hygro sensors.

[edit]Non-ideal

properties of practical capacitors


voltage

[edit]Breakdown

Main article: Breakdown voltage The breakdown voltage of the dielectric limits the power density of capacitors. For a particular dielectric, the breakdown voltage is proportional to the thickness of the dielectric. If a manufacturer makes a new capacitor with the same dielectric as some old capacitor, but with half the thickness of the dielectric, the new capacitor has half the breakdown voltage of the old capacitor. Because the plates are closer together, the manufacturer can put twice the parallel-plate area inside the new capacitor and still fit it in the same volume (capacitor size) as the old capacitor. Since the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor is given by:

this new capacitor has 4 times the capacitance as the old capacitor. Since the energy stored in a capacitor is given by:

this new capacitor has the same maximum energy density as the old capacitor. The energy density depends only on the dielectric. Making a few thick layers of dielectric (which can support a high voltage, but results in a low capacitance), or making many very thin layers of dielectric (which results in a low breakdown voltage, but a higher capacitance) has no effect on the energy density.

[edit]Q

factor, dissipation and tan-delta

Capacitors have Q (quality) factor (and the inverse, dissipation factor, D or tan-delta) which relates capacitance at a certain frequency to the combined losses due to dielectric leakage and series internal resistance (also known as ESR) dissipation factor (dielectric loss). The lower the Q, the lossier the capacitor. Aluminum electrolytic types have typically low Q factors. High Q capacitors tend to exhibit low DC leakage currents. Tan-delta is the tangent of the

complementary phase angle between voltage and current in the capacitor. This angle is sometimes called the loss angle. It is related to the power factor which is zero for an ideal capacitor.

[edit]Equivalent

series resistance (ESR)

Equivalent series resistance is an effective resistance that is used to describe the resistive parts of the impedance of certain electronic components. The theoretical treatment of devices such as capacitors and inductors tends to assume they are ideal or "perfect" devices, contributing only capacitance or inductance to the circuit. However, all (non-superconducting) physical devices are constructed of materials with nonzero electrical resistance, which means that all real-world components contain some resistance in addition to their other properties. A low ESR capacitor typically has an ESR of 0.01 . Low values are preferred for high-current, pulse applications. Low ESR capacitors have the capability to deliver huge currents into short circuits, which can be dangerous. For capacitors, ESR takes into account the internal lead and plate resistances and other factors. An easy way to deal with these inherent resistances in circuit analysis is to express each real capacitor as a combination of an ideal component and a small resistor in series, the resistor having a value equal to the resistance of the physical device. Electrolytic capacitors tend to have much larger ESR than other types; ESR can increase with time and temperature, commonly enough to cause circuit malfunction and component damage.

[edit]Equivalent

series inductance (ESL)

ESL in signal capacitors is mainly caused by the leads used to connect the plates to the outside world and the series interconnects used to join sets of plates together internally. For any realworld capacitor, there is a frequency above DC at which it ceases to behave as a pure capacitance. This is called the (first) resonant frequency. This is critically important with decoupling high-speed logic circuits from the power supply. The decoupling capacitor supplies transient current to the chip. Without decouplers, the IC demands current faster than the connection to the power supply can supply it, as parts of the circuit rapidly switch on and off. Large capacitors tend to have much higher ESL than small ones[citation needed]. To counter this potential problem, circuits frequently use multiple bypass capacitorsa small (100 nF or less) capacitor rated for high frequencies and a large electrolytic rated for lower frequencies and, occasionally, an intermediate value capacitor.

[edit]Maximum

voltage and current

Important properties of capacitors are the maximum working voltage (potential, measured in volts) and the amount of energy lost in the dielectric. For high-power or high-speed capacitors, the maximum ripple current, peak current, fault current, and percent voltage reversal are further considerations. Typically the voltage is 66% of the rated voltage. A voltage higher than that, usually reduces the life expectancy depending on manufacturer. The time for a voltage to discharge is 6 time constants.

[edit]Temperature

dependence

Another major non-ideality is temperature coefficient (change in capacitance with temperature) which is usually quoted in parts per million (ppm) per degree Celsius.

[edit]Aging
Electrolytic capacitors in storage for many years may lose the metal oxide film layers which comprise the capacitor dielectric; application of full operating voltage after a long idle period may damage the capacitors. Wax-coated paper dielectric capacitors may absorb moisture after prolonged storage. Refurbishing antique equipment often requires replacement of old capacitors; sometimes a modern device is concealed within the original capacitor case to preserve the as-built appearance.

[edit]Dielectric

absorption (soakage)

Main article: Dielectric absorption Some types of dielectrics, when they have been holding a voltage for a long time, maintain a "memory" of that voltage: after they have been discharged and left without an applied voltage, a voltage will gradually be established which is some fraction of the original voltage. For some dielectrics 10% or more of the original voltage may reappear. This phenomenon of unwanted charge storage is called dielectric absorption or soakage, and it effectively creates a hysteresis or memory effect in capacitors. The percentage of the original voltage restored depends upon the dielectric and is a non-linear function of original voltage.[2] In many applications of capacitors dielectric absorption is not a problem but in some applications, such as long-time-constant integrators, sample-and-hold circuits, switchedcapacitor analog-to-digital converters, and very low-distortion filters, it is important that the capacitor does not recover a residual charge after full discharge, and capacitors with low absorption are specified.[3] For safety, high-voltage capacitors are often stored with their terminals short circuited.

Some dielectrics have very low dielectric absorption, e.g., polystyrene, polypropylene, NPO ceramic, and Teflon. Others, in particular those used in electrolytic and supercapacitors, tend to have high absorption.

[edit]Voltage

non-linearities

Capacitors may also change capacitance with applied voltage. This effect is more prevalent in high k ceramic and some high voltage capacitors. This is a small source of non-linearity in lowdistortion filters and other analog applications.

[edit]Leakage
The resistance between the terminals of a capacitor is never truly infinite, leading to some level of d.c. 'leakage'; this ultimately limits how long capacitors can store charge. Before modern lowleakage dielectrics were developed this was a major source of problems in some applications (long time-constant timers, sample-and-holds, etc.).

[edit]Component [edit]Standard

values and identification

values

Before 1960 electronic components values were not standardised. The more common, but not the only, values for capacitors were 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 6.0, and 8.0 as base numbers multiplied by some negative or positive power of ten. Values in the nanofarad range and above were stated in microfarads (often incorrectly abbreviated as mF or mfd); lower values were stated in micro-microfarads (F, now called picofarads, pF). In the late 1960s a standardized set of geometrically increasing preferred values was introduced. According to the number of values per decade, these were called the E3, E6, E12, etc. series

Serie s

Values

E3

1.0

2.2

4.7

E6

1.0

1.5

2.2

3.3

4.7

6.8

E12 1.0 1.2 1.5 1.8 2.2 2.7 3.3 3.9 4.7 5.6 6.8 8.2

In many applications capacitors need not be specified to tight tolerance (they often need only to exceed a certain value); this is particularly true for electrolytic capacitors, which are often used for filtering and bypassing. Consequently capacitors, particularly electrolytics, often have a tolerance range of 20% and need to be available only within E6 (or E3) series values. Other types of capacitors, e.g. ceramic, can be manufactured to tighter tolerances and are available in E12 or closer-spaced values (e.g. 47 pF, 56 pF, 68 pF). Since the establishment of the SI in 1960, the range of prefixes used to specify capacitor values has expanded to include everything from pico- to kilo-, which is the range of commercially available capacitors. In some regions, however, certain prefixes can be less common than others; notably, in North America, use of millifarad and nanofarad is uncommon.

[edit]Capacitor

markings

Capacitors, like most other electronic components, have markings in their bodies to indicate their electrical characteristics, in particular capacitance, tolerance, working voltage and polarity (if relevant). For most types of capacitor, numerical markings are used, whereas some capacitors, especially older types, use colour coding.

[edit]Numerical markings
On capacitors that are large enough (e.g. electrolytic capacitors) the capacity and working voltage are printed on the body without encoding. Sometimes the markings also include the maximum working temperature, manufacturer's name and other information. Smaller capacitors use a shorthand notation, to display all the relevant information in the limited space. The most commonly used format is: XYZ J/K/M VOLTS V, where XYZ represents the capacitance (calculated as XY 10Z pF), the letters J, K or M indicate the tolerance (5%, 10% and 20% respectively) and VOLTS V represents the working voltage. Polarised capacitors, for which one electrode must always be positive relative to the other, have clear polarity markings, usually a stripe or a "-" sign on the side of the negative electrode. Also, the negative lead is usually shorter. Examples: An electrolytic capacitor might be marked with the following information: 47F 160V 105C A capacitor with the following text on its body: 105K 330V has a capacitance of 10 105 pF = 1 F (10%) with a working voltage of 330 V. A capacitor with the following text: 473M 100V has a capacitance of 47 103 pF = 47 nF (20%) with a working voltage of 100 V.

[edit]Colour coding
Main article: Electronic color code Capacitors may be marked with 3 or more coloured bands or dots. 3-colour coding encodes most significant digit, second most significant digit, and multiplier. Additional bands have meanings which may vary from one type to another. Low-tolerance capacitors may begin with the first 3 (rather than 2) digits of the value. It is usually, but not always, possible to work out what scheme is used by the particular colours used. Cylindrical capacitors marked with bands may look like resistors.

Colour

DC Significant Capacitance Characteristi Operating Multiplier working EIA/vibration digits tolerance c temperature voltage

Black

20%

55 C to +70 C

10 to 55 Hz

Brown

10

1%

100

Red

100

2%

55 C to +85 C

Orange

1000

300

Yellow

10000

55 C to +125 C

10 to 2000 Hz

Green

0.5%

500

Blue

55 C to +150 C

Violet

Grey

White

EIA

Gold

5%*

1000

Silver

10%

*Or 0.5 pF, whichever is greater.

The EIA Class 1 dielectric materials are ceramic dielectric materials used in ceramic capacitors. The dielectric constant of Class 1 dielectric materials is relatively low, so the capacitors tend to be limited to smaller values (typically <5 nF). The EIA Class 1 dielectrics in general are usually based on titanate formulas (usually titanium dioxide with calcium titanate) with low or zero content of barium titanate; due to that low content, their susceptibility to microphonics is low. (Cf. EIA Class 2 dielectric.) Their dependence on temperature is linear. C0G (EIA) or NP0 (industry spec) is the material with the lowest capacitance/temperature dependence (Negative-Positive zero). C0G/NP0 (NP0, negative positive zero) dielectrics have the lowest losses, and are used in filters, as timing elements, and for balancing crystal oscillators. Ceramic capacitors tend to have low inductance because of their flat plate construction. Most other types of capacitor are wound and thus inductive. This makes ceramic capacitors well suited to highfrequency work, where they are often used as a leadless disc or plate soldered inline with the PCB track. NP0 refers to the shape of the capacitor's temperature coefficient graph (how capacitance changes with temperature). NP0 means that the graph is flat and the device is not affected by temperature changes. The C0G/NP0 material can be used up to gigahertz frequencies. Common materials are C0G/NP0, P350, N1000/M3K. The ceramic composition may involve one or more of dielectric electroceramics materials. There are two naming conventions. The EIA version relies on letter-digit-letter code for the slope of the temperature-capacitance dependence. The industry version uses a N/P prefix (N for negative, P for positive) and the slope coefficient. See the comparison for some common materials: EIA M7G C0G B2G U1G P2G R2G S2H T2H U2J P3K R3L

Industry P100 NP0 N030 N075 N150 N220 N330 N470 N750 N1500 N2200 The EIA three-character code for the material capacitance-temperature slope is derived from the low and high temperature limit, and the range of capacitance change. ppm/ C Multipl ier Tolerance in ppm/C (25-85 C)

C 0.0

0 -1

30

B 0.3

1 -10

60

L 0.8

2 -100

120

A 0.9

3 -1000

250

M 1.0

5 +1

500

P 1.5

6 +10

1000

R 2.2

7 +100

2500

S 3.3

8 +1000

T 4.7

V 5.6

U 7.5

EIA Class 2 dielectric


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from X7R)

The EIA Class 2 dielectric materials are ceramic dielectric materials used in ceramic capacitors. The EIA Class 2 dielectrics in general are usually based on formulas with high content of barium titanate (BT), possibly mixed with other dielectric electroceramics. Due to itspiezoelectric properties, they are subject to microphonics. Other oxides added can be the same as used for Class 1 ceramics.
Contents
[hide]

1 Comparison to Class 1 dielectrics 2 Marking code 2.1 Common

types

3 References 4 See also

[edit]Comparison

to Class 1 dielectrics

In comparison with the EIA Class 1 dielectrics they tend to have severe temperature drift, high dependence of capacitance on applied voltage, high voltage coefficient of dissipation factor, high frequency coefficient of dissipation, and problems with aging due to gradual change of crystal structure. Aging causes gradual exponential loss of capacitance and decrease of dissipation factor.

[edit]Marking

code

The EIA three-character code is derived from the minimum and maximum temperature limit, and the amount of capacitance change permitted within that range.

Minimum temperatu re[1]

Maximum temperatu re[1]

Capacitance change permitted[1]

X -55 C

2 +45 C

A 1.0%

Y -30 C

4 +65 C

B 1.5%

Z +10 C

5 +85 C

C 2.2%

6 +105 C

D 3.3%

7 +125 C

E 4.7%

8 +150 C

F 7.5%

9 +200 C

+15% / -40%[2]

P 10%

R 15%

S 22%

T +33% /-22%

U +56% /-22%

V +82% / -22% [edit]Common

types

Although this code can describe a huge number of possible dielectrics, only a few are commonly manufactured. X5R performs better than other dielectrics, such as Y5V, and permits the construction of physically smaller capacitors than other dielectrics, such as NP0 and X7R. Typically its temperature variation of capacitance is +/-15% over a range of -55 to +85 degrees Celsius. The temperature variation is, however, non-linear.[3]

X7R is designed for capacitors with capacity ranging typically between 3.3 nF to 330 nF (SMT: 100 pF to 10 F). Good for non-critical coupling, filtering, transient voltage suppression, and timing applications. Has high dielectric constant. It is an EIA Class 2 dielectric. Its variation over a temperature range of 55 to +125 C is 15%. Y5P and Y5V are other such class 2 ceramics, with temperature range of 30 to +85 C and wide capacitance change with temperature of 10% or +80/-20%.[4] Usually used for capacitances between 150 pF and 2 nF (SMT: 10 nF to 10 F). Y5P is equivalent to the IEC code 2B4. Z5U is commonly found from 2.2 nF to 2.2 F, 20%. Good for bypass, coupling applications. Low price and small size, poor temperature stability. This is equivalent to the IEC code2E6.

Ceramic Capacitors
The ceramic dielectrics are made of a variety of titanates, zirconates, and oxides (and many other things as well). Common ingredients include titanium dioxide, barium titanate, and strontium titanate. The exact formulas for the various ceramics differ from one manufacturer to another. The EIA classifies the ceramics into four classes (1-4), and into types within those classes. The lower the class number, the better the overall characteristics, but the larger the size for a given capacitance. Types within each class define recommended temperature range, temperature drift, and tolerance on the expected temperature drift. Other parameters are less well defined. However, the EIA does provide guidelines as to how they will be measured. These include insulation resistance, dissipation factor, quality factor, voltage dependence, and a host of environmental tests, such as thermal shock, moisture resistance, and flammability. Generalizations about critical parameters can usually be made about the various types with good reliability, even when not stated. In some cases however, you will have to look to the manufacturer for data.

Class 1 Class 1 ceramics include C0G (often called NP0), and temperature compensating capacitors. They are based titanium dioxide but can have low levels of barium titanate, calcium titanate, and other things added to increase the dielectric constant, or to get a desired temperature slope. C0G capacitors have many of the advantages of film capacitors plus very low temperature drift (limited to 30 ppm/C over 25-85C), including very low aging, voltage coefficient, frequency coefficient, leakage, and dissipation factor. C0G capacitors are used into the GHz range. Dielectric absorption is typically "low" but not usually specified. It is reported to be relatively variable from part to part and lot to lot. Also, manufacturers give conflicting numbers. About the only problem with C0G capacitors is size. Although the dielectric constants of Class 1 ceramics are higher than for plastics films, the voltage breakdown is lower. At values of about 0.01 F and below, this is not a great problem because packaging is usually the dominant factor in size, but above 0.01 uF, C0G caps get rather large. Except for special multi-chip packages, 0.047 uF is about the largest through-hole you will see and 0.027 uF is about the largest chip SMD. Multi-chip SMD parts go much higher however. Companies that advertise large multi-chip ceramic capacitors include:
http://www.avx.com/ http://www.presidiocomponents.com http://www.johanson-caps.com/

For reasonable sizes, the cost difference between C0G and lesser ceramic capacitors is small. For most analog applications, use C0G capacitors whether you think you need them or not. The behavior of lower-grade ceramic capacitors can be so strange that you never know when some parameter idiosyncrasy will sneak up and bite you. Temperature compensating capacitors are available in the range of at least P1000 through N5600 (+1000 ppm/C through -5600 ppm/C). Tolerance on the temperature slope can vary from 30 ppm/C for the lower slopes (N30 through N220) up to 1000 ppm/C for N5600, however. Above N4200, their properties start to look more like Class 2 than Class 1. Both dissipation factor (DF) and dielectric constant (K) go up as the temperature slope of Class 1 ceramics goes more negative, thanks to the additives. Because of this, manufacturers seeking a specific compromise among

DF, temperature drift, and size will sometimes use temperature compensating dielectrics when no temperature compensation is desired. For example, use a N1000 where C0G would be preferred, but size does not allow. They may also brew up proprietary dielectrics that don't exactly fit any of the EIA styles. Pseudo C0Gs are available, if rarely, with rated temperature drifts as low as +-10 ppm. Table 1 shows EIA codes for Class 1 ceramic capacitors and specifies temperature range and capacitance drift tolerance over that range. Table 1 EIA Codes For Temperature Slope of Class 1 Ceramic Capacitors.
Significant Figure in ppm/C C 0.0 B 0.3 L 0.8 A 0.9 M 1.0 P 1.5 R 2.2 S 3.3 T 4.7 V 5.6 U 7.5 6 7 Multiplier 0 1 2 4 -1 -10 -100 +1 +10 +100 8 +1000 Tolerance in ppm/C (25-85C) G 30 H 60 J 120 K 250 L 500 M 1000 N 2500

3 -1000

So, for example, the ever popular C0G has a temperature drift of 0.030 ppm/C (+25C to +85C) and P3K has a temperature drift of -1500 250 ppm/C. Tolerance only applies from +25C to +85C. From +25C to -55C the "-" figure is 1.25-4 times higher depending on the "Significant Figure". For example, C0G is 30 ppm/C from 25C through 85C, but +30/-75 from 25 to -55C. Don't expect to see all possible combinations. Who would want a C0N for example? The EIA has a "preferred" list of some 200 parts, but only about two dozen are commonly available. Industry commonly uses an "N/P" designation system that is obsolete, but is more intuitive, and more reflective of what is actually in production. The "N" is used for capacitors with a negative temperature coefficient, and a "P" for those with a positive coefficient. Manufacturers usually use both in their catalogs, while distributors' catalogs often use only the N/P codes. Purists righteously disdain the use of NP0 (an older industry designation) when referring to C0G (an EIA specification) capacitors, however. Table 2 Some Commonly Available Class 1 Capacitors With Both EIA and Industry Codes.

Industry:

P100

NP0

N030

N075

N150

N220

N330

N470

N750

N1500

N2200

EIA:

M7G

C0G

B2G

U1G

P2G

R2G

S2H

T2H

U2J

P3K

R3L

Class 2, 3, and 4. Class 2 and higher ceramics are typically based mostly on barium titanate (Ba2 TiO3), although other materials are apparently coming into use. They have problems not seen in Class 1 and film capacitors, including very poor temperature drift, high voltage-coefficient-of-capacitance and, high voltagecoefficient-of-dissipation factor (all of these are different for AC and DC), high frequency-coefficient-of-capacitance and a significant aging rate. The higher K material, > X7R were once considered to be too unreliable to be used in critical applications, but quality is much better today. These capacitors age because the crystal structure they have when they are made slowly changes to another, lower K form, over time. The crystal structure can be be changed back by heating for several hours at 125C to 150C, after which the aging starts all over again. Applied voltage affects some properties so much that these capacitors are normally characterized at no more than 1 volt AC or DC. Because these affects are all more dependent on applied voltage vs. maximum voltage (volts per thickness in other words) than on the absolute voltage, you can try using the highest voltage part possible, size permitting. The table below shows what happens to capacitance when DC voltage is applied to various ceramics. Capacitance vs. AC voltage, and D. F. vs. both DC and AC voltage go through more-or-less similar contortions. The numbers are approximate at best. They will vary considerably with the actual rated voltage, and with manufacturer.

These capacitors dont have the good high frequency characteristics of Class 1 ceramics, they all show a drop in capacitance and a rise in dissipation factor as they go above 1 MHz. However, some high-voltage/high current RF capacitors are made of the better Class 2 ceramics, for use in the 1-40 MHz range. High-K ceramic capacitors can show significant piezoelectric effects; if you tap them they will produce a voltage spike. This is caused by the barium

titanate, the main material in high K ceramics. The higher the K, the stronger this affect. This can cause problems with circuitry dealing with low-level signals, making them vulnerable to mechanical shock. This is another reason to use Class 1 ceramics when designing analog circuitry. Class 2, and higher, ceramics do have an advantage in size, however. In fact, high-K ceramics can compete with electrolytic capacitors in many applications where low ESR is more important than bulk capacitance. Table 3 shows EIA codes for non-temperature-stable ceramic capacitors and specifies temperature range and capacitance drift tolerance over that range. Table 3 EIA Codes For Non-Temperature-Stable Ceramic Capacitors (Class 2 and Higher)
Low Temp. Limit: X -55C Y -30C Z +10C High Temp. Limit: 4 5 6 7 8 9 +65C +85C +105C +125C +150C +200C Capacitance Change over Range: A B C D E F P R S T U V 1.0% 1.5% 2.2% 3.3% 4.7% 7.5% 10% 15% 22% +22% -33% +22% -56% +22% -82%

So, for example, an X7R would be usable from -55 through +125C and should change no more than 15% from its 25C value. One note, however; Class 2 and higher capacitors are affected by voltage and the above drift limits hold only at low applied voltage. Don't expect to find all possible combinations; X7R, Z5U, and Y5V are the most common although other types are also seen.

Why use them if their electrical properties are inferior to C0G? Size and cost. You will rarely see C0G larger than 0.047 uF (at least as a standard product), but Z5U can be found as large as 22 uF, even in SMD. Poor as it is by C0G standards, a 22 uF Z5U can compete with the equivalent electrolytic in many high-frequency applications with a much lower ESR. As switching power supplies go ever higher in frequency, large ceramic capacitors look more and more attractive compared to higher ESR electrolytics, and some manufacturers make parts, both SMD and leaded, aimed directly at that market . On the other hand, advances in film production have allowed large low-voltage film capacitors to compete with ceramics in some applications. Some manufactures offer films as ceramic substitutes without even mentioning the dielectric, although it is almost certainly polyester. As a rule of thumb, Class 1 ceramics (like C0G) can be used in many common analog electronics applications. Exceptions would be sample-and-hold circuits and integrators, where mediocre dielectric absorption may be a problem. Class 2 ceramics (like X7R) are best suited for coupling (DC blocking) and power supply bypassing. X7Rs can be used in some linear applications with care where performance and stability are of no great concern. It would probably be best to use the highest voltage rating practical to minimize leakage, which can vary a lot from part to part. Class 3 capacitors should be used only for DC blocking and P.S. bypassing, and even then, change in capacitance due to aging, temperature coefficient, and voltage coefficient must be taken into account. For the best characteristics from Class 2 and 3 ceramics, use the lowest K material that you can, and use them at a low percentage of rated voltage. Class 4 are the barrier-layer or reduced-titanate ceramics. They may not have quite disappeared, but close to it. These ceramics have low breakdown voltage, high leakage and all-around terrible electrical properties. High Ks made them useful at one time but modern multilayer ceramics have largely made them obsolete.

Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors The construction of ceramic capacitors have changed dramatically over the last few decades. At one time, a common form was that of a single-layer ceramic disk. A metal layer was screened and fired on each side, and wires soldered on. This was fine for making 1000 volt/0.01 uF capacitors, but with the decline of the vacuum tube, demand for such parts has likewise declined. There is still a place for them, but not inside a cell phone or laptop computer. Today's electronics

requires ever more capacitance in a smaller volume. The way to get it is with the "multilayer ceramic capacitor" (MLCC). MLCCs are made by screening many very thin alternating layers of unfired ceramic and silver-palladium alloy electrodes, and firing the result to make a finished capacitor. The dielectric layers may be >30 microns to <5 microns. SMD ceramics are made in astonishing numbers, 100 billion/year is one number I have seen.

The end electrodes are usually tin-lead over nickel, but other systems are occasionally used, such as silver-palladium over nickel or gold over nickel. Silver-palladium is used where the parts are glued with silver-epoxy instead of being soldered (rare). Silver-palladium is almost impossible to solder. The internal electrodes are usually silver-palladium, but other metals are also used; nickel electrodes may to be the wave of the future with the metals lower resistance and lower cost. The cost of palladium has been increasing dramatically. At least one manufacturer, Taiyo Yuden, has MLCCs with nickel electrodes already on the market, with other major vendors (Murata, Vishay, Kemet) expected to follow shortly. Nickel-electrode MLCCs are an unknown quantity as regards to reliability however, and customers can be expected to be suspicious until they have proven themselves. Some manufacturors are trying to reduce costs by reducing the ratio of palladium to silver (silver being the cheaper of the two metals).

The thinner the ceramic, the better. If you halve the thickness, the capacitance-per-volume (volumetric efficiency) quadruples. The limiting factor is voltage breakdown. However, thinner also means more difficult to make reliably. At present, manufacturers are making MLCCs with up to 100-1000 ceramic layers with a

thickness that may approach as little as 1 micron depending on voltage rating. MLCCs with more and thinner layers are promised, the goal being to make the layers so thin they are no thicker than needed for the system supply voltage. This may have happened by the time you read this. MLCCs are available as leaded devices, both as disks and as chip capacitors with leads, but SMD is where the real action is. Because of ceramic capacitors wide range of uses, ceramics (mainly SMD) have diverged into a number of special types. They include:

Low ESR. This can be done in a number of ways. Some are wider than they are long; some use nickel electrodes. Low height, for use in things like smart cards, or to go under a RAM IC for power supply bypassing. High temperature operation, to at least 200C in NP0 and X7R. High voltage, to at least 10 kV in SMD. Multiple chip assemblies with lead frames. A number of end electrodes metals, both for soldering and gluing (conductive epoxy). A variety of special sizes and shapes for applications like very high current RF, or microwave use. And not to be forgotten: ROHS (pronounced "rose").

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