TYPES OF CAPACITORS

1. Fixed Capacitance
A. Film Capacitors- one of the most common type of capacitor because of its
availability. It differs in dielectric properties compared to the other forms of capacitors.
Plastic film capacitors have a similar construction with the paper film capacitors and
their difference is that one uses paper while the other uses plastic.
B. Ceramic capacitors- referred as Disc Capacitors. It uses a ceramic material as its
dielectric. There are two classes of ceramic capacitors which are class 1 and class 2.
Class 1 ceramic capacitors are very accurate, used where high stability and low losses
are required and the capacitance value is stable in relation to applied voltage,
temperature and frequency while Class 2 capacitors are used for less sensitive
applications and have a high capacitance per volume.
C. Electrolytic capacitor- can be either wet-electrolyte or solid polymer. It uses a thin film
layer to act as one of the electrodes, an electrolyte solution in the form of a semi-liquid
jelly or paste is used instead as the second electrode. There are two forms, one is
tantalum electrolytic capacitors which have two varieties, the dry (solid) and wet (foil)
electrolytic types. Second is aluminum electrolytic capacitors.
D. Super capacitor- Can store extremely large amounts of electrical energy by using two
mechanisms; double-layer capacitance and pseudocapacitance. The first is
electrostatic, while the second is electrochemical, so super capacitors combine the
characteristics of normal capacitors with those of ordinary batteries.
E. Mica capacitor- are low-loss, allowing use at high frequencies, reliable, and their
value remains stable over time.
F. Glass capacitor- offers a low temperature coefficient with no hysteresis, zero aging
rate, no piezo-electric noise, and extremely low loss.
G. Feed-through capacitor- provides low parallel inductance and offers excellent
decoupling capability for all high di/dt environments and provides significant noise
reduction in digital circuits.
2. Variable Capacitance
A. Rotary Capacitor- may be intentionally and repeatedly changed mechanically or
electronically.
B. Trimmer Capacitor- re mounted directly on the printed circuit board with a provision
to vary their value using a small screwdriver.
References:
Capacitor types and performance. (2018, October 15). Retrieved from
https://ph.element14.com/capacitor-types-and-performance
Introduction to Capacitor Technologies. (2013). Retrieved from
http://www.kemet.com/Lists/TechnicalArticles/Attachments/6/What%20is%20a
%20Capacitor.pdf