Ceramic capacitor

Ceramic capacitors are one of the most widely used forms of capacitor used in electronics equipment these days. Ceramic capacitors have also been used for many years, being found in valve or tube circuits dating from the 1930s.

Today ceramic capacitors area available in a variety of formats ranging from leaded components to surface mount technology, SMT varieties. As leaded versions disc ceramic capacitors are widely available, and as SMT devices, ceramic capacitors are available in all the common formats. As such these ceramic capacitors are used in virtually every type of electronics equipment.

The actual performance of the ceramic capacitors is highly dependent upon the dielectric used. Using modern dielectrics, very high values are available, but it is also necessary to check parameters such as the temperature coefficient and tolerance. Different levels of performance are often governed by the dielectric used, and therefore it is necessary to choose the type of dielectric in the ceramic capacitor.

Ceramic capacitors range in value from figures as low as a few picofarads to around 0.1 microfarads. In view of the wide range and suitability for RF applications they are used for coupling and decoupling applications in particular. Here they are by far the most commonly used type being cheap and reliable and the loss factor is particularly low although this is dependent on the exact dielectric in use.

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