Effects[edit]

At low frequencies parasitic capacitance can usually be ignored, but in high frequency circuits it can
be a major problem. In amplifier circuits with extended frequency response, parasitic capacitance
between the output and the input can act as a feedback path, causing the circuit to oscillate at high
frequency. These unwanted oscillations are called parasitic oscillations.
In high frequency amplifiers, parasitic capacitance can combine with stray inductance such as
component leads to form resonant circuits, also leading to parasitic oscillations. In all inductors, the
parasitic capacitance will resonate with the inductance at some high frequency to make the
inductor self-resonant; this is called the self-resonant frequency. Above this frequency, the inductor
actually has capacitive reactance.
The capacitance of the load circuit attached to the output of op amps can reduce their bandwidth.
High-frequency circuits require special design techniques such as careful separation of wires and
components, guard rings, ground planes, power planes, shielding between input and
output, termination of lines, andstriplines to minimise the effects of unwanted capacitance.
In closely spaced cables and computer busses, parasitic capacitive coupling can cause crosstalk,
which means the signal from one circuit bleeds into another, causing interference and unreliable
operation.
Electronic design automation computer programs, which are used to design commercial printed
circuit boards, can calculate the parasitic capacitance and other parasitic effects of both components
and circuit board traces, and include them in simulations of circuit operation. This is called parasitic
extraction.

Noise;
The ultimate sensitivity of small signal amplifiers is limited by noise due to random variations
in current flow. The two major sources of noise in transistors are shot noise due to current
flow of carriers in the base and thermal noise. The source of thermal noise is device
resistance and increases with temperature:

What is a Bypass Capacitor?

A capacitor that filters out the AC signal removing the noise and provides a DC signal is
known as a bypass capacitor. The capacitor connected in the figure below is a bypass
capacitor bypassing AC noise and allowing pure DC signal to pass through the component.

Why Use Bypass Capacitors?

In electronics, most of the circuits are digital in nature using direct current (DC). It has been
observed that variations in voltage can cause problems to the circuit operation. A circuit may
operate incorrectly due to voltage swing. In practical circuits, the voltage fluctuation is
usually caused by the AC component that may ride over DC signal causing noise.
Therefore, a bypass capacitor is needed to dampen the AC or noise present at all
frequencies. Also, it prevents the unwanted communication between devices sharing the
same power source.
How to Use Bypass Capacitors?

The bypass capacitor value depends on the noise frequency of the supply that requires
filtering. Therefore, a typical bypass capacitor of 0.01 F or 0.1 F is connected for high
frequency supply noise and low current applications as shown in figure below:

However, power supply lines may have multiple frequencies in some applications

where a single bypass capacitor is not sufficient. Thus, a network of bypass capacitors is
used to filter the noise of wider range of frequencies. An example is given in the circuit
below where capacitor C2 filters mid range frequencies, C3 filters higher frequencies and
C4 filters low frequencies.