App note from CalRamic Technologies LLC on detecting defects in high voltage capacitor by Partial discharge. Link here (PDF) High reliability life critical systems require enhanced reliability high voltage multilayer ceramic capacitors, thereby necessitating improvements in materials, design, process control, and in-process screening procedures. Given that energy stored in a capacitor is proportional to the […]
Tag Archives: capacitors
App note: Handling of ceramic capacitors
Proper handling of ceramic capacitor presented in this app note from CalRamic Technologies LLC. Link here (PDF) Ceramic capacitors are susceptible to mechanical and thermal shock and larger capacitors in particular can be easily damaged if the operator does not pay particular attention to how they handle the device. In addition, care should be taken […]
App note: AC film capacitors in connection with the mains (≤ 60 Hz)
Suppressing EMI from mains and getting power in-series with a capacitor are just the two main function of these front line capacitors and is discussed in this app note from Vishay. Link here (PDF) Because of the high energy availability and the severe environment of surge voltages and pulses, applications of capacitors in connection with […]
App note: Types of capacitors used for output smoothing of switching regulators and their precautions
Another app note from ROHM Semiconductor on various capacitors used for output smoothing. Link here (PDF) In recent years, it has become a common practice to recommend multilayer ceramic capacitors for the output smoothing of switching regulators due to the stability of their temperature characteristics and the reduction on the mounting area. On the other […]
App note: Energy storage capacitor technology comparison and selection
App note from AVX about MLCC, Tantalum, Tantalum Polymer and Supercapacitors. Link here (PDF) Tantalum, MLCC, and super capacitor technologies are ideal for many energy storage applications because of their high capacitance capability. These capacitors have drastically different electrical and environmental responses that are sometimes not explicit on datasheets or requires additional knowledge of the […]
App note: Voltage proof test for metalized film capacitors
App note from Vishay about self recovery of metalized film caps. Link here (PDF) Voltage proof tests, also called “high pot” tests, are used to check if a capacitor has a breakdown failure mode occurring at a certain test voltage. The detection of breakdown is done by a current detection, specified if exceeding a certain […]
App note: Solid electrolytic capacitors designed for high temperature applications
New development and manufacturing process produces extended temperature endurance of solid capacitors discuss in this app note from KEMET. Link here (PDF) For decades the maximum recommended operating temperature of solid electrolytic capacitors was 125°C. Responding to needs in the automotive and downhole drilling industries passive component manufacturers developed surface mount tantalum capacitors rated at […]
App note: Calculating and interpreting power dissipation for polypropylene film DC-link capacitors
Tech note from Vishay on polypropylene film capacitor value calculation with temperature and power dissipation consideration. Link here (PDF) Film capacitors can deliver high power density due to their low ESR and high ripple current capabilities, and offer the highest ampere per μF ratio of capacitor technologies. This feature, combined with their high reliability and […]
App note: Basics on decoupling
See AVX technical note on how capacitors filter out transients in high speed digital circuits. Link here (PDF) This paper discusses the characteristics of multilayer ceramic capacitors in decoupling applications and compares their performance with other types of decoupling capacitors. A special high-frequency test circuit is described and the results obtained using various types of […]
App note: Aluminum electrolytic capacitors design for long operational life
App note from KEMET on long life electrolytic capacitors. Link here (PDF) The service life for high quality power supplies and automotive power electronics is often limited by electrolytic capacitors’ operational life (Lop). Very long life (> 20 years at temperature up to 75C) is possible to be achieved by choosing capacitors with optimized design. […]
App note: Comparison of ceramic and tantalum capacitors
App note from KEMET about the replaceability between ceramic and tantalum capacitors to each other. Link here (PDF) Ceramic capacitors have a multitude of dielectric types available and each of these types is characterized by their sensitivities to temparature, but not to voltage or time. This paper compares the X7R, X6S, or X5R dielectric […]
App note: Power management solution – Constant Voltage (CV) pulse charging of hybrid capacitors
App note from Vishay about constant voltage (CV) pulse charging as the most cost-efficient solution to use on Hyrid capacitors. Link here (PDF) Rechargeable energy storage solutions are of high interest because of their flexibility, low maintenance requirements, and reduced cost over their life-cycle. For compact applications, classic electrolytic capacitors are environmentally friendly alternatives and […]
App note: Capacitor selection guidelines on LDOs
They are different kind of capacitors, selection for one capacitor varies depending on application. A good read app note from Analog Devices. Link here (PDF) Capacitors are underrated. They do not have transistor counts in the billions nor do they use the latest submicron fabrication technology. In the minds of many engineers, a capacitor is […]
App note: Ceramic multilayer capacitors in HF SMPS applications
Development and improvement of ceramic multilayer capacitors in high frequency power supply filtering, a technical note from AVX. Link here (PDF) There has been an explosion of interest in the use of ceramic capacitors for high frequency power conversion applications. This interest is compounded with new designs striving for higher frequencies, smaller sizes and greater […]
App note: Selection of capacitors for pulse applications
Guidelines from WIMA about selecting capactiors for pulsed conditions. Link here The maximum permissible AC voltage that can be applied to capacitors in sinusoidal waveform applications, can be determined from the graphs in the respective capacitor ranges. However, where pulse conditions exists, the following procedure is to be observed to ensure that the correct capacitor […]
App note: HVArc Guard® surface-mount capacitors for low-power voltage multiplier applications
Application note on Vishay’s arc resistant SMD capacitors, Link here (PDF) Voltage multipliers can generate very high voltages due to an inverter circuit that feeds a step-up transformer, which is connected to the multiplier circuit. An example of a typical voltage multiplier, which is simply a circuit comprised of capacitors and diodes that charge and […]
App note: AC film capacitors in connection with the mains
An application note from Vishay about choosing the right filter capacitors that are placed directly on mains. Link here (PDF) To help reducing emission and increasing the immunity of radio interference, electromagnetic interference suppression film capacitors (EMI capacitors) are playing a major role in all kind of applications. These capacitors are put directly parallel over […]
App note: Passives aren’t really So Passive: Capacitors
Interesting app note from Maxim Integrated on small parasitic effects of capacitors that makes them less passive. Link here (PDF) Active components like transistors and integrated circuits change signals using energy from the power supply. Conversely, passive components like resistors, capacitors, inductors, and connectors do not consume power or so we like to assume. However, […]
App note: Capacitors for reduced microphonics and sound emission
Capacitors are sensitive to audio frequency and can pick-up and emit said energy. Here’s an app note from KEMET about these. Link is here Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC), made with class 2 or class 3 dielectrics, typically exhibit a piezoelectric effect when placed under electric field. The piezoelectric effect results in a physical distortion with […]
App note: Why that 47 uF capacitor drops to 37 uF, 30 uF, or lower
App note from KEMET about the decreasing value of capacitance with respect to its rated value. Link is here There are a couple of reasons why the capacitance value marked on the device you have, may not read anywhere near that value in the circuit application in which it is intended. The two major contributors […]