Capacitor

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This article is about the electronic component. For the physical phenomenon, see
capacitance. For an overview of various kinds of capacitors, see types of capacitor.

Capacitor

Modern capacitors, by a cm rule

Type Passive

Invented Ewald Georg von Kleist (October 1745)

Electronic symbol

A typical electrolytic capacitor

A capacitor (formerly known as condenser) is a device for storing electric charge. The
forms of practical capacitors vary widely, but all contain at least two conductors separated by
a non-conductor. Capacitors used as parts of electrical systems, for example, consist of metal
foils separated by a layer of insulating film.
A capacitor is a passive electronic component consisting of a pair of conductors separated by
a dielectric (insulator). When there is a potential difference (voltage) across the conductors, a
static electric field develops across the dielectric, causing positive charge to collect on one
plate and negative charge on the other plate. Energy is stored in the electrostatic field. An
ideal capacitor is characterized by a single constant value, capacitance, measured in farads.
This is the ratio of the electric charge on each conductor to the potential difference between
them.

Capacitors are widely used in electronic circuits for blocking direct current while allowing
alternating current to pass, in filter networks, for smoothing the output of power supplies, in
the resonant circuits that tune radios to particular frequencies and for many other purposes.

The capacitance is greatest when there is a narrow separation between large areas of
conductor, hence capacitor conductors are often called "plates", referring to an early means of
construction. In practice the dielectric between the plates passes a small amount of leakage
current and also has an electric field strength limit, resulting in a breakdown voltage, while
the conductors and leads introduce an undesired inductance and resistance.

Theory of operation
Main article: Capacitance

Charge separation in a parallel-plate capacitor causes an internal electric field. A dielectric (orange)
reduces the field and increases the capacitance.
A simple demonstration of a parallel-plate capacitor

A capacitor consists of two conductors separated by a non-conductive region[8]. The non-

conductive region is called the dielectric or sometimes the dielectric medium. In simpler
terms, the dielectric is just an electrical insulator. Examples of dielectric mediums are glass,
air, paper, vacuum, and even a semiconductor depletion region chemically identical to the
conductors. A capacitor is assumed to be self-contained and isolated, with no net electric
charge and no influence from any external electric field. The conductors thus hold equal and
opposite charges on their facing surfaces,[9] and the dielectric develops an electric field. In SI
units, a capacitance of one farad means that one coulomb of charge on each conductor causes
a voltage of one volt across the device.[10]

The capacitor is a reasonably general model for electric fields within electric circuits. An
ideal capacitor is wholly characterized by a constant capacitance C, defined as the ratio of
charge ±Q on each conductor to the voltage V between them:[8]

Sometimes charge build-up affects the capacitor mechanically, causing its capacitance to
vary. In this case, capacitance is defined in terms of incremental changes:

[edit] Energy storage

Work must be done by an external influence to "move" charge between the conductors in a
capacitor. When the external influence is removed the charge separation persists in the
electric field and energy is stored to be released when the charge is allowed to return to its
equilibrium position. The work done in establishing the electric field, and hence the amount
of energy stored, is given by:[11]

[edit] Current-voltage relation

The current i(t) through any component in an electric circuit is defined as the rate of flow of a
charge q(t) passing through it, but actual charges, electrons, cannot pass through the dielectric
layer of a capacitor, rather an electron accumulates on the negative plate for each one that
leaves the positive plate, resulting in an electron depletion and consequent positive charge on
one electrode that is equal and opposite to the accumulated negative charge on the other.
Thus the charge on the electrodes is equal to the integral of the current as well as proportional
to the voltage as discussed above. As with any antiderivative, a constant of integration is
added to represent the initial voltage v (t0). This is the integral form of the capacitor equation,
[12]
 .

Taking the derivative of this, and multiplying by C, yields the derivative form,[13]

The dual of the capacitor is the inductor, which stores energy in the magnetic field rather than
the electric field. Its current-voltage relation is obtained by exchanging current and voltage in
the capacitor equations and replacing C with the inductance L.

[edit] DC circuits
See also: RC circuit

A simple resistor-capacitor circuit demonstrates charging of a capacitor.

A series circuit containing only a resistor, a capacitor, a switch and a constant DC source of
voltage V0 is known as a charging circuit.[14] If the capacitor is initially uncharged while the
switch is open, and the switch is closed at t = 0, it follows from Kirchhoff's voltage law that

Taking the derivative and multiplying by C, gives a first-order differential equation,

At t = 0, the voltage across the capacitor is zero and the voltage across the resistor is V0. The
initial current is then i (0) =V0 /R. With this assumption, the differential equation yields
where τ0 = RC is the time constant of the system.

As the capacitor reaches equilibrium with the source voltage, the voltage across the resistor
and the current through the entire circuit decay exponentially. The case of discharging a
charged capacitor likewise demonstrates exponential decay, but with the initial capacitor
voltage replacing V0 and the final voltage being zero.

[edit] AC circuits
See also: reactance (electronics)  and electrical impedance#Deriving the device specific impedances

Impedance, the vector sum of reactance and resistance, describes the phase difference and the
ratio of amplitudes between sinusoidally varying voltage and sinusoidally varying current at a
given frequency. Fourier analysis allows any signal to be constructed from a spectrum of
frequencies, whence the circuit's reaction to the various frequencies may be found. The
reactance and impedance of a capacitor are respectively

where j is the imaginary unit and ω is the angular velocity of the sinusoidal signal. The - j
phase indicates that the AC voltage V = Z I lags the AC current by 90°: the positive current
phase corresponds to increasing voltage as the capacitor charges; zero current corresponds to
instantaneous constant voltage, etc.

Note that impedance decreases with increasing capacitance and increasing frequency. This
implies that a higher-frequency signal or a larger capacitor results in a lower voltage
amplitude per current amplitude—an AC "short circuit" or AC coupling. Conversely, for very
low frequencies, the reactance will be high, so that a capacitor is nearly an open circuit in AC
analysis—those frequencies have been "filtered out".

Capacitors are different from resistors and inductors in that the impedance is inversely
proportional to the defining characteristic, i.e. capacitance.
[edit] Parallel plate model

Dielectric is placed between two conducting plates, each of area A and with a separation of d.

The simplest capacitor consists of two parallel conductive plates separated by a dielectric
with permittivity ε (such as air). The model may also be used to make qualitative predictions
for other device geometries. The plates are considered to extend uniformly over an area A and
a charge density ±ρ = ±Q/A exists on their surface. Assuming that the width of the plates is
much greater than their separation d, the electric field near the centre of the device will be
uniform with the magnitude E = ρ/ε. The voltage is defined as the line integral of the electric
field between the plates

Solving this for C = Q/V reveals that capacitance increases with area and decreases with
separation

The capacitance is therefore greatest in devices made from materials with a high permittivity.

Several capacitors in parallel.

[edit] Networks
See also: Series and parallel circuits
For capacitors in parallel

Capacitors in a parallel configuration each have the same applied voltage. Their capacitances
add up. Charge is apportioned among them by size. Using the schematic diagram to visualize
parallel plates, it is apparent that each capacitor contributes to the total surface area.

For capacitors in series

Several capacitors in series.

Connected in series, the schematic diagram reveals that the separation distance, not the
plate area, adds up. The capacitors each store instantaneous charge build-up equal to that of
every other capacitor in the series. The total voltage difference from end to end is
apportioned to each capacitor according to the inverse of its capacitance. The entire series
acts as a capacitor smaller than any of its components.

Capacitors are combined in series to achieve a higher working voltage, for example for
smoothing a high voltage power supply. The voltage ratings, which are based on plate
separation, add up. In such an application, several series connections may in turn be
connected in parallel, forming a matrix. The goal is to maximize the energy storage utility of
each capacitor without overloading it.

Series connection is also used to adapt electrolytic capacitors for AC use.

[edit] Non-ideal behaviour

Capacitors deviate from the ideal capacitor equation in a number of ways. Some of these,
such as leakage current and parasitic effects are linear, or can be assumed to be linear, and
can be dealt with by adding virtual components to the equivalent circuit of the capacitor. The
usual methods of network analysis can then be applied. In other cases, such as with
breakdown voltage, the effect is non-linear and normal (i.e., linear) network analysis cannot
be used, the effect must be dealt with separately. There is yet another group, which may be
linear but invalidate the assumption in the analysis that capacitance is a constant. Such an
example is temperature dependence.

[edit] Breakdown voltage

Main article: Breakdown voltage
Above a particular electric field, known as the dielectric strength Eds, the dielectric in a
capacitor becomes conductive. The voltage at which this occurs is called the breakdown
voltage of the device, and is given by the product of the dielectric strength and the separation
between the conductors,[15]

Vbd = Edsd

The maximum energy that can be stored safely in a capacitor is limited by the breakdown
voltage. Due to the scaling of capacitance and breakdown voltage with dielectric thickness,
all capacitors made with a particular dielectric have approximately equal maximum energy
density, to the extent that the dielectric dominates their volume.[16]

For air dielectric capacitors the breakdown field strength is of the order 2 to 5 MV/m; for
mica the breakdown is 100 to 300 MV/m, for oil 15 to 25 MV/m, and can be much less when
other materials are used for the dielectric.[17] The dielectric is used in very thin layers and so
absolute breakdown voltage of capacitors is limited. Typical ratings for capacitors used for
general electronics applications range from a few volts to 100V or so. As the voltage
increases, the dielectric must be thicker, making high-voltage capacitors larger than those
rated for lower voltages. The breakdown voltage is critically affected by factors such as the
geometry of the capacitor conductive parts; sharp edges or points increase the electric field
strength at that point and can lead to a local breakdown. Once this starts to happen, the
breakdown will quickly "track" through the dielectric till it reaches the opposite plate and
cause a short circuit.[18]

The usual breakdown route is that the field strength becomes large enough to pull electrons in
the dielectric from their atoms thus causing conduction. Other scenarios are possible, such as
impurities in the dielectric, and, if the dielectric is of a crystalline nature, imperfections in the
crystal structure can result in an avalanche breakdown as seen in semi-conductor devices.
Breakdown voltage is also affected by pressure, humidity and temperature.[19]

[edit] Equivalent circuit

Two different circuit models of a real capacitor

An ideal capacitor only stores and releases electrical energy, without dissipating any. In
reality, all capacitors have imperfections within the capacitor's material that create resistance.
This is specified as the equivalent series resistance or ESR of a component. This adds a real
component to the impedance:

As frequency approaches infinity, the capacitive impedance (or reactance) approaches zero
and the ESR becomes significant. As the reactance becomes negligible, power dissipation
approaches PRMS = VRMS² /RESR.

Similarly to ESR, the capacitor's leads add equivalent series inductance or ESL to the
component. This is usually significant only at relatively high frequencies. As inductive
reactance is positive and increases with frequency, above a certain frequency capacitance will
be canceled by inductance. High-frequency engineering involves accounting for the
inductance of all connections and components.

If the conductors are separated by a material with a small conductivity rather than a perfect
dielectric, then a small leakage current flows directly between them. The capacitor therefore
has a finite parallel resistance,[10] and slowly discharges over time (time may vary greatly
depending on the capacitor material and quality).

[edit] Ripple current

Ripple current is the AC component of an applied source (often a switched-mode power

supply) whose frequency may be constant or varying. Certain types of capacitors, such as
electrolytic tantalum capacitors, usually have a rating for maximum ripple current (both in
frequency and magnitude). This ripple current can cause damaging heat to be generated
within the capacitor due to the current flow across resistive imperfections in the materials
used within the capacitor, more commonly referred to as equivalent series resistance (ESR).
For example electrolytic tantalum capacitors are limited by ripple current and generally have
the highest ESR ratings in the capacitor family, while ceramic capacitors generally have no
ripple current limitation and have some of the lowest ESR ratings.

[edit] Capacitance instability

The capacitance of certain capacitors decreases as the component ages. In ceramic capacitors,
this is caused by degradation of the dielectric. The type of dielectric and the ambient
operating and storage temperatures are the most significant aging factors, while the operating
voltage has a smaller effect. The aging process may be reversed by heating the component
above the Curie point. Aging is fastest near the beginning of life of the component, and the
device stabilizes over time.[20] Electrolytic capacitors age as the electrolyte evaporates. In
contrast with ceramic capacitors, this occurs towards the end of life of the component.

Temperature dependence of capacitance is usually expressed in parts per million (ppm) per
°C. It can usually be taken as a broadly linear function but can be noticeably non-linear at the
temperature extremes. The temperature coefficient can be either positive or negative,
sometimes even amongst different samples of the same type. In other words, the spread in the
range of temperature coefficients can encompass zero. See the data sheet in the leakage
current section above for an example.
Capacitors, especially ceramic capacitors, and older designs such as paper capacitors, can
absorb sound waves resulting in a microphonic effect. Vibration moves the plates, causing
the capacitance to vary, in turn inducing AC current. Some dielectrics also generate
piezoelectricity. The resulting interference is especially problematic in audio applications,
potentially causing feedback or unintended recording. In the reverse microphonic effect, the
varying electric field between the capacitor plates exerts a physical force, moving them as a
speaker. This can generate audible sound, but drains energy and stresses the dielectric and the
electrolyte, if any.

[edit] Capacitor types

Main article: Types of capacitor

Practical capacitors are available commercially in many different forms. The type of internal
dielectric, the structure of the plates and the device packaging all strongly affect the
characteristics of the capacitor, and its applications.

Values available range from very low (picofarad range; while arbitrarily low values are in
principle possible, stray (parasitic) capacitance in any circuit is the limiting factor) to about
5 kF supercapacitors.

Above approximately 1 microfarad electrolytic capacitors are usually used because of their
small size and low cost compared with other technologies, unless their relatively poor
stability, life and polarised nature make them unsuitable. Very high capacity supercapacitors
use a porous carbon-based electrode material.

[edit] Dielectric materials

Capacitor materials. From left: multilayer ceramic, ceramic disc, multilayer polyester film, tubular
ceramic, polystyrene, metalized polyester film, aluminum electrolytic. Major scale divisions are in
centimetres.

Most types of capacitor include a dielectric spacer, which increases their capacitance. These
dielectrics are most often insulators. However, low capacitance devices are available with a
vacuum between their plates, which allows extremely high voltage operation and low losses.
Variable capacitors with their plates open to the atmosphere were commonly used in radio
tuning circuits. Later designs use polymer foil dielectric between the moving and stationary
plates, with no significant air space between them.

In order to maximise the charge that a capacitor can hold, the dielectric material needs to
have as high a permittivity as possible, while also having as high a breakdown voltage as
possible.
Several solid dielectrics are available, including paper, plastic, glass, mica and ceramic
materials. Paper was used extensively in older devices and offers relatively high voltage
performance. However, it is susceptible to water absorption, and has been largely replaced by
plastic film capacitors. Plastics offer better stability and aging performance, which makes
them useful in timer circuits, although they may be limited to low operating temperatures and
frequencies. Ceramic capacitors are generally small, cheap and useful for high frequency
applications, although their capacitance varies strongly with voltage and they age poorly.
They are broadly categorized as class 1 dielectrics, which have predictable variation of
capacitance with temperature or class 2 dielectrics, which can operate at higher voltage. Glass
and mica capacitors are extremely reliable, stable and tolerant to high temperatures and
voltages, but are too expensive for most mainstream applications. Electrolytic capacitors and
supercapacitors are used to store small and larger amounts of energy, respectively, ceramic
capacitors are often used in resonators, and parasitic capacitance occurs in circuits wherever
the simple conductor-insulator-conductor structure is formed unintentionally by the
configuration of the circuit layout.

Electrolytic capacitors use an aluminum or tantalum plate with an oxide dielectric layer. The
second electrode is a liquid electrolyte, connected to the circuit by another foil plate.
Electrolytic capacitors offer very high capacitance but suffer from poor tolerances, high
instability, gradual loss of capacitance especially when subjected to heat, and high leakage
current. Poor quality capacitors may leak electrolyte, which is harmful to printed circuit
boards. The conductivity of the electrolyte drops at low temperatures, which increases
equivalent series resistance. While widely used for power-supply conditioning, poor high-
frequency characteristics make them unsuitable for many applications. Electrolytic capacitors
will self-degrade if unused for a period (around a year), and when full power is applied may
short circuit, permanently damaging the capacitor and usually blowing a fuse or causing
arcing in rectifier tubes. They can be restored before use (and damage) by gradually applying
the operating voltage, often done on antique vacuum tube equipment over a period of 30
minutes by using a variable transformer to supply AC power. Unfortunately, the use of this
technique may be less satisfactory for some solid state equipment, which may be damaged by
operation below its normal power range, requiring that the power supply first be isolated
from the consuming circuits. Such remedies may not be applicable to modern high-frequency
power supplies as these produce full output voltage even with reduced input.

Tantalum capacitors offer better frequency and temperature characteristics than aluminum,
but higher dielectric absorption and leakage.[21] OS-CON (or OC-CON) capacitors are a
polymerized organic semiconductor solid-electrolyte type that offer longer life at higher cost
than standard electrolytic capacitors.

Several other types of capacitor are available for specialist applications. Supercapacitors store
large amounts of energy. Supercapacitors made from carbon aerogel, carbon nanotubes, or
highly porous electrode materials offer extremely high capacitance (up to 5 kF as of 2010)
and can be used in some applications instead of rechargeable batteries. Alternating current
capacitors are specifically designed to work on line (mains) voltage AC power circuits. They
are commonly used in electric motor circuits and are often designed to handle large currents,
so they tend to be physically large. They are usually ruggedly packaged, often in metal cases
that can be easily grounded/earthed. They also are designed with direct current breakdown
voltages of at least five times the maximum AC voltage.