Section V Electromagnetic and Other Applications of Aluminum

Chapter 15
Capacitor Foil
Capacitors both fixed and variable are used today
in almost every electrical system. From great power
generating and distributing networks to electric organs,
including telephone and radio systems, computers and
motors, elevators and x-ray apparatus and so on, the
use of a capacitor almost always is a fundamental
necessity.
Any arrangement of electrodes whatsoever upon which
electric cbarges accumulate or move will exhibit the inci
dence of capacitance. Where the electrode geometry is
extensive in space such as a wire or cable, the charges are
distributed likewise and we speak of such a structure as
being a distributed capacitance. When the electrodes are
deliberately concentrated in space, the charges are con
centrated and this is termed a lumped capacitance. All elec
trical components used specifically as capacitors are looked
upon as providing lumped capacitance.
Aluminum has been and is the preferred metal for
capacitor electrodes whether used in rigid plate form or
in varying thicknesses of foil for d-., a-c low voltage,
high voltage, high frequency, high or low power, impulse
discharge, etc.
Capacitor Design Considerations
Under given conditions of electrical, physical and en
vironmental factors, a capacitor may be called upon to pro
vide a precise amount of capacitance, a required time
constant of charge and discharge (with proper circuit re
sistance) or a specified impulse release of stored energy.
The selection of electrode and insulation materials and the
design of their electrical and mechanical arrangements
can be optimized to produce an economical capacitoI" that
will perform properly in its intended service.
In Section Ill, Chapter 8, the general conditions gov
erning the relation of potential and charge to capacitance
were discussed as well as the influence of the dielectric
medium. The equations for capacitance relating to a wide
variety of electrode geometries were given and the nature
of the dielectric polarization of the insulation discussed.
All of this is applicable to capacitor design.
A common economic consideration in capacitor design
is to obtain the largest amount of capacitance per unit vol
ume of material used. This is, of course, obtained by using
the thinnest electrodes and the thinnest insulating material
possessing the highest dielectric constant. How far one
can go in these directions depends upon the circuit voltage
to be withstood, the conductance and!or dielectric loss
that can be tolerated and the stability of the assembly
under the operating conditions.
Equivalent Network of a Capacitor
All capacitors possess a certain amount of series resist
ance and inductance as well as shunt capacitance and con
ductance. Fig. 15-1 shows a simple, unrolled foil capaci
tor and its equivalent electrical circuits. The series impe
dance (r + jwL) is made up of the resistance and in
ductance of the capacitor leads plus those inherent in the
electrode material, shape and extent. Usually the induc
tance is negligibly small as compared to the other factors.
Actually, the inductance is approximately the same as a
wire loop equal in area to that formed by the two leads
and the capacitor unit itself. The foil electrodes appear
as a uniformly distributed series resistance.
The overall impedance of the equivalent network shown
in Fig. 15-1 (c) is:
.,C

g2 +.,2 C'
g2 +w'C'
(Eq. 15-1)
where:
w=2".f
fin Hz
ginmhos
Cin farads
Lin becrys
r in ohms
or since g2 is usually very small compared to "PC',
g j(w'CL-I)

wC
(Eq. 15-2)
15-1
electromagnetic and other applications of aluminum
FO'l elECTRODES
lEADS "",....,''''".. . D.elECTRIC
LEAD INDUCTANCE IL)
LEAD INDUCTANCE III
lEAD RESISTANCE PLUS
EFFECTIVE FOIL RESISTANCE ld
lEAD RESISTANCE
EQUiVALENT PARALlel
IDEAL
RESISTANCE CORRESPONDING
CAPACiTANCE
TO CONDUCTANCE (g)
OF DIELECTRIC
1<1
Fig. 15-1. Equivalent electrical circuit of a capaciror.
From the above it is obvious that the effective capacl
C
tance seen across the terminals of a capacitor is ( )
w'CL-l
and that this will vary with frequency. For low frequencies
it will be equal to C; as frequency increases, the effect of
the inductance increasingly reduces the capacitance and
the capacitive reactance. At a frequency where resonance
occurs (usually very high), the overall impedance is en
tirely made up of the effective resistance of the leads and
the foil electrodes at that frequency. Above the resonant
frequency, the capacitor acts as an inductance coil with
some series capacitance. Although theoretically every
practical capacitor will exhibit resonance at some high
frequency, it is always possible to arrange the electrode
and terminal wires to obtain the effect of a low impedance,
long transmission line free of apparent resonance over a
wide high-frequency band. Fig. 15-2 shows the reactance
vs. frequency effect for a waxed paper insulated capacitor
designed for audio frequency circuits.
Effective Resistance and Loss of a Capacitor: At fre
quencies below which parasitiC inductance becomes sig
nificant, the dissipated watt loss in a capacitor is oc
casioned by both the ohmic loss in the foils and leads and
the dielectric loss in the insulating materiaL However, as
the ohmic loss is almost always insignificant it is usually
ignored in commerCial practice and power Joss is com
puted with the following formula:
Where: E =
W =
volts
E'",C tan B
(Eq. 15-3)
w = 2".f (frequency in Hz)
tan B= dissipation factor
S= Joss angie
Reduction of losses in a capacitor is quite important
from the standpoints of both adequate performance and
stable life. In capacitors carrying heavy currents, the
energy loss is a source of heating which, if not adequately
reduced or carried off by thermal conduction, can cause
rapid deterioration and failure of the insulation. Control
of heat loss enters into the design and use of capacitors
for low frequency operation in connection with power
factor correction and, at high frequencies, in radio trans
mitting capacitors. In radio frequency circuits, effective
resistance becomes important in series coil and capacitor
combinations required to. have low impedance at the
resonance frequencies or parallel combinations required to
have high impedance at the anti-resonance frequency. This
is because resistance may add appreciably to the desired
low impedance at the resonance frequency or reduce the
desired high impedance at the anti-resonant frequency.
In electric wave filters intended to pass a single band
of frequencies and suppress others, the transmission loss
is ideally zero over the pass-band and rises sharply be
yond the edge or edges. Parasitic loss in the reactive ele
ments is unwanted loss which varies over the pass-!Jand
and reaches a maximum .at the edges resulting in distorted
transmission. This sOurce of loss is generally objectionable,
for example, in carrier-telephone systems where the cumu
lative loss of many filters in tandem may result in con
siderable distortion which must be compensated for by
means of attenuation-equalizing networks.
In his efforts to limit the losses in capacitors required to
pass alternating current in telephone and electronic cir
cuits, the capacitor engineer is usually primarily concerned
with the effect of frequency on series and shunt resistance.
15-2
This is because the effective resistance undergoes large
changes with changing frequency and because of the wide
frequency-range which circuits are often required to cover.
Loss in Foil and Leads: At a first approximation, the
effective impedance of the foil and leads of a capacitor ap
pears as a straight-line factor over a wide range of fre
quency. At higher frequencies, impedance increases due
to eddy-current and other losses including skin effect
where only the outer portion of the metallic components
carry the current.
From the watt loss (Eq. 15-3) above, it is seen that
the heat loss in the foil and leads increases as the square
of the frequency for constant applied voltage. In general,
this condition applies over the operating frequency-range
of many capacitors.
EIJeClive Resistance of Foil Electrodes
In the case of wound paper capacitors, there is a simple
relationship between the effective resistance of the foil
electrodes and their de resistance. With reference to Fig.
15-1, it is clear that alternating current entering the foil
electrodes at the lead-in wires decreases as it spreads or
distributes along the foil, and the current flowing at points
remote from the lead-in wires may be only a small fraction
of the entering current. It may be shown theoretically and
demonstrated experimentally that for the long, narrow
100
10
o.1
V) o.I

:x:
o
1
w
U
Z

10
-<
u
III
w
> 100
ii
S
ZIOOO
capacitor foil
electrodes of wound paper capacitors the effective foil
resistance is approximately equal to 1/3 of the loop dc
resistance obtained by adding the dc resistance values of
the two foils. In other words, due to current attenuation
along the foils only 33 percent of the total doc foil re
sistance is effective with respect to alternating current.
Fig. 15-3 shows the effect of several laid-in terminals in
reducing effective foil resistance especiaUy at the higher
frequencies.
Where, as is more usual in practice, the terminals are
laid-in at approximately the middle of the foil electrodes,
the current spreads in opposite directions along the foils.
The effective resistance of the loop in each direction is
then R/6 and, since the two loops are in parallel, the total
effective resistance becomes R/12. When "n" terminals
are laid-in on a foil of length "L", it may be shown that
the lowest resistance is obtained by spacing the terminals
at intervals of L/n, with each end terminal located L/2n
from the end of the foil. With this arrangement, the effec
tive resistance is inversely proportional to the square of
the number of terminals,
In the limiting case, the edge of the foil is connected to
gether along its entire length. This, kno,,\'n as "extended
foil" or "overlapped foil" construction, gives the lowest
attainable effective foil resistance for a foil of given ma
terial and dimensions. In addition, by providing an efficient
C=1MF !
\1
INDUCTANCE.l =0.2)J.H
SERIES


INDUCTIVE
EFFECT

./
'7
I IVE RESISjANi
E
,
,
I
:1,'
I \Q<';'p..\,
,

I
C.\,\V
,
I
.....
c.'1-
0
t ,
RESONANCE
",,6P
"fREQUENCY
,
I


I
/"
I
05 2 5 10 20 SO 100 200 SOO 1000 5000 10.000
fREQUENCY IN kHz
Fig. 15-2. Impedance versus frequency of paper capacitors at audio frequencies.
15-3
electromagnetic and other applications of aluminum
0
w 10
U
z
20
~
u;
'"
w
30
a:
Z 40
Z
0 50
i=
u
:::l 60
0
w
a:
70
I
Z
w
80
U
a:
w
90
"
234 5
NUMBER Of LAID- IN TERMINALS PER FOIL ELECTRODE
Fig. 15-3. Impedance at high frequency is reduced by adding terminals.
~
CAPACITANCE = lMf
\\
-......
--
~
AT 1 kHz
\\.
\\
EFFECTIVE
RESISTANCE
\\
,
....
..
-----
AT 3 ~ kHz
\
....
....
..
de RESISTANCE OF
FOIL ELECTRODES
------
1--- ______
conduction path for heat from the inside to the outside of
the unit, extended foil construction is advantageous in
high-power capacitors having large heat dissipation. Fig.
15-5 illustrates the relation between heat loss and fre
quency in a waxed paper capacitor.
Electrolytic Capacitors
The electrolytic capacitor provides the most capacitance
in a given space at the lowest cost per microfarad. Pri
marilya filtering capacitor, this type is largely used in con
nection with de circuits at working voltages less than 500
volts. For example, at low voltage, several thousand
microfarads may be contained in a one cubic inch elec
trolytic capacitor using etched aluminum foil electrodes.
Fig. 15-4 shows a typical eleCtrolytic capacitor design.
The high capacitance per unit votume of electrolytic
capacitors comes from the extreme thinness of the dielec
tric which is an anodic oxide film previously built up by an
electrolytic process on one of the foil electrodes, known as
the anode (capacitance per cubic inch is inversely pro
portional to the thickness of the dielectric). The thick
ness of this insulating film is but a few millionths
of an inch and the working voltage gradient can be of the
order of 10 million volts per inch. Etching the anode in
creases the effective area so as to increase the capacitance
as much as 7 to 30 times.
With the voltage applied in one direction. the film has
a high resistance to the flow of current and behaves like a
dielectric. With the voltage reversed, the film behaves like
a relatively low resistance and.. if the voltage is high
enough, it passes large currents, heats 1!tp and soon breaks
down. Because of this unidirectional property, the film is
154
suitable only for direct voltage in a single direction and
the anode terminal is usually marked "positive" to indicate
in which direction the voltage shall be applied.
ElectrOlytic capacitors are used extensively in low
voltage ac applications. One type consists virtually of
two capacitors with their cathodes connected together
so that the two capacitors operate in series but in opposite
directions. One capacitor absorbs the applied voltage on
one half of the ac cycle and the other capacitor comes into
ANODE
CATHODE
..J..
h

k
'i
,':,
;',
..
.. .'.
J'
.
?
!,
c
'-',
"f'
~
FOIL
PAPER
Fig. 15-4. Cross-sectional view oj a typical capacitor.
capacitor foil
10
5
2
<.f)
....
....
~
0.5
z
<.f)
<.f) 0.2
0
....
....
0.1

w
J:
0.05
0.02
1.01
play during the succeeding half-cycle when the voltage
reverses. The most common type is a capacitor wound as
a non-polar capacitor utilizing two anodes instead of an
anode and a cathode. Such capacitors are used extensively
on low ac voltages; for example, as motor-starting capaci
tors when the fuil voltage is of short duration. Where the
voltage is very low, they can be used continuously; for
example, to filter audio frequencies in radio sets. In
general, they are limited on ac with respect to voltage
because of the high power factor.
Improvements made in the design and manufacture of
aluminum electrolytic capacitors allow for use in a wide
variety of commercial and industrial precision circuit
applications. Common usage today is in the telecom
munications industries. The highest aluminum purities, for
example 1199, allow for the manufacture of high reli
ability capacitors with extended life and temperature
characteristics and long, stable storage life.
Capacitor Foil Availability
Precise capacitor design begins with high-purity alumi
num capacitor foil of precise thickness and desired sur-
I.,IAMP
!
N =1.35
C= lMF
I
.....
~ DIELECTRIC lOSS
r.....
I"
1290 fn-2
~ .......J2lTC) 2
.....
...............
FOil lOSS, I2r
-_.
-
I
- --- - -
-:s..;
---- '-, --. - -
-
-
!'-.....
,
.....
......
..... ""
..........
.....
0.1 0.2 0.5 1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000
FREQUeNCY IN KILOCYCLES PER SECOND
Fig. 1.5-.5. Heat loss versus frequency at constant current in paper capacitor
face and edge treatment. High purity aluminum capacitor
foil is produced by a number of manufacturers and is
available in a wide range of thicknesses, widths and alloys.
Precision processing assures control of impurities, foil uni
formity and continuity, freedom of sticking during un
winding, excellent gauge control, perfectly slit burr-free
edges, and tightly wound compact coils. A full range of
purities are available-from 99,35% to 99.99% pure
aluminum.
Foil is produced either in the dry condition, or with a
so-called slick finish, or etched and anodized.
Dry Foil: Specialized annealing technique provides a
surface free from residual oil contamination. A thor
oughly wet surface will show no droplet formations in
dicative of oil residue.
Slick Foil: A slightly lubricated surface developed in
combination with annealing practices overcomes fric
tion generated by winding equipment, but will not con
taminate the dielectric.
electromagnetic and other applications of aluminum
TABLE 15-1
Chemical Composition-Maximum Allowable Impurities in Weight Percent
I
Iron &
!
r
Minimum
Alloy Silicon Iron Silicon Copper Manganese Titanium Magnesium
i
Zinc Other Aluminum
i
1235
!
I
.65 .05 I .05 99.35
1145 .55 .05 .05 .03 99.45
1180 .09 .09 .01 .02 .02 99.80
1188 .06 .06 .005 .01 .01 .01 .02 .01 99.88
1193 .04 .04 .006 .01 .01 99.93
1199 .006 .006
.006 i
i
.006 .006 .002 99.99
Anodized Foil: High purity aluminum foil is specially
treated to provide a very thin oxide film on its surface.
This film acts as a dielectric and results in high capaci
tance as compared to paper capacitors. It can be etched
to increase the surface area 1 to 30 times. thereby pro
viding even greater capacitance in a given volume.
A typical group of product data tables of one aluminum
foil manufacturer is reproduced here.
Table 1 5 ~ 1 gives chemical composition of the aluminum alloys
most used in condenser foil production. It is to be recalled, in this
connection, that the addition of other metals to aluminum usually
lowers its electrical conductivity, Also that heat treatment putting
other metals in solid solution with the aluminum also lowers c o n ~
ductivity,
Table 15-2 gives typical properties.
Table 1 5 ~ 3 gives thickness and width limitations,
TabJe 15-4 gives welght-area conversion factors.
Table 1 5 ~ 5 gives typical splice data.
Table l56 gives foil toll sizes and weights.
15-6
capacitor foil
TABLE 15-2 TABLE 15-4
Typical Physical Properties-O Temper WeightArea Conversion Factors
Alloy Gauge Tensile-psi
1199 .003" 5,000
1193 .003" 8,100
1188 .003" 6,300
1180 .OO3
tt
6,500
1145 .003" 10,000
1235 .003" 10,500
TABLE 15-3
% Elongation Thickne.. lin.)
3.2 .00017
6.6 .0002
5.7 .00023
6.0 .00025
7.0 .00030
8.1 .00035
.00040
.00045
.00050
.00055
Thickness And Width Limitations
.00060
.00065
I Sq In./lb
I
Sq Ftllb !lb/432,000 Sq In."
60,300 418.75 7.16
51,300 356.25 8.42
44,600 309.72 9.69
41,000 264.72 10.54
34,200 237.50 12.63
29,300 203.47 14.74
25,600 177.78 16.88
22.800 156.33 18.95
20,500 142.36 21.07
18,600 129.17 23.23
17,100 118.75 25.26
15,800 109.72 27.34
Alloy Gauge
1235; 1145 .00017 .. .0002 ..
1235; 1145 .0002"-.00023"
1235;1145 .00025"
1235; 1145 .0003
11

1235;1145
1235; 1145 .00045".001"
1235; 1145 .0015".0059"
1235; 1145 .002 .. .0059"
1180; 1188 .0004"-.0015"
1180; 1188 !.002 .... 0059 ..
1193; ,.001 .... 0015..
1193; 1199 .002",0059"
"MIS des.gn.tes Matte one side.
2SB designates Two sides bright.
Finish" Widths
14,600 .0007 101.39 29.59
MIS
MIS
MIS
MIS
MIS
MIS
MIS,2SB
2SB
MIS
2SB
MIS
2SB
3/8

3/.43"
.3 /g


1/4N. 72"
I /4
3/s ".36"
1/4 "36"
3/
8
"36'*
1/4 u36"
.00075
.00060
.00085
.00090
.00095
.0010
.0015
.0020
.0025
.0030
.0035
.0040
.0045
13,667
12,800
12,058
11,400
10,789
10,250
6,830
5,130
4,100
3,420
2,930
2,560
2,280
2,050 .0050
.0055 1,860
94.91 31.61
88.89 33.75
83.74 35.83
79.17 37.89
74.92 40.04
71.18 42.15
47.43 63.25
84.21_ 35.63
28.47 105.37
126.32 23.75
20.35 147.44
17.78 168.75
15.83 189,47
14.24 210.73
12.92 232.26
432,000 sq. in. signifies one ream (500 shts) of 24
TABLE 15-5
in. x 36 in. sheets.
Splices (Annealed Foil-Dry or Slick)

.00017"-.0004"
.00017"-.0015"
.002
t1
-.OO5"
(Electrolytic Foil)
Width
23
u
Maximum
All Widths
All Widths
Splice
Knurl
Foil Tape
(Electric Weld)
(Ultrasonic Splice)
15-7
electromagnetic and other applications of aluminum
Width
114
11
311 _
3
n
-311#
1/
4
"_3
81
3"_72##
171i_72u
TABLE 15-6(a)
Roll Size
Type of Core
1 SII,' Aluminum
1
5
/
16
#1 Aluminum
3" Aluminum
3"" Aluminum
3
U
Iron
Maximum 00
6"
12H
8"
13"
30"
TABLE 156(b)
Roll Weight Data-Unmounted Foil
SPOOLED ROLL WEIGHT OF FOIL PER INCH OF WIOTH-(POUNOSI
Outside ~ i a m e t e r ALUMINUM CORE IRON CORE
(lnehes) 10-1-5/16" 10-3" 10-21/2" 10-3"
00-11/2" 00-3-3116" 00-3" 00-3-1/4"
2" 0.31b
- -
-
2%'" 0.3
-
-
-
3" 0.5
3%" 0.7 0.21b 0.31b 0.21b
4" 1.0
I
0.4 0.5 0.4
4%U
1.3 0.7 0.8 0.7
5"
!
1.7
!
1.1 1.2 1.1
5%" 2.1 1.5 1.6 1.5
6" 2.6
2.0 2.1 2.0
6%" 3.1 2.5 2.6 I
2.5
7" 3.6 3.0 3.1 3.0
7%" 4.1 3.5 3.6 3.5
8" 4.7 4.1 4.2 4.1
8y"" 5.3
i 4.7 4.8 4.7
9" 6.0
i
5.4 5.5 5.4
9%" 6.7
6.1 6.2 6.1
lOU
7.5 6.9 7.0 6.9
10%U
8.3 7.7 7.8 7.7
1,."
~ ..,
8.5 8.6 8.5
11 Y,," 10.0 9.3 9.4 9.3
12" 10.9 10.2 10.3 10.2
12%" 11.8 11.2 11.3 11.2
131"1
12.8 12.2 12.3 12.2
1314" 13.8 13.2 13.3 13.2
14
n
14.8 14.2 14.3 14.2
14%U , 15.9 15.3 15.4 15.3
15" 17.0 16.4 16.5 16.4
15%U 18.2 11.6 17.7 17.6
NOTES: 10 and 00 dimensions represent the Inside and Outside Diameter, respectively, of the metal COre.
The above figures are approximate and do not include core weight.
For approximate net weight of Foil per roll, exclusive of core weight, multiply the figure under the applicable roll
00 and type of core by the inches of roll width.
158