Capacitors

Chapter 9
Capacitors
Basics of a Capacitor
• In its simplest form, a capacitor is an electrical
device constructed of two parallel plates separated
by an insulating material called the dielectric
• In the neutral state, both plates have an equal
number of free electrons
• When a voltage source is connected to the
capacitor, electrons are removed from one plate and
an equal number are deposited on the other plate
• No electrons flow through the dielectric (insulator)
FIGURE 9-1 The basic capacitor.
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Electronics Fundamentals, 6e Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electric Circuit Fundamentals, 6e All rights reserved.
Illustration of a capacitor storing charge
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Equivalent circuit for a no ideal capacitor
No Current flows through a capacitor except for undesired leakage current.

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How a Capacitor Stores Energy
• A capacitor stores energy in the form of an
electric field that is established by the opposite
charges on the two plates
• A capacitor obeys Coulomb’s law:
A force exists between two point-source charges
that is directly proportional to the product of the
two charges and inversely proportional to the
square of the distance between the charges
The electric field stores energy in a capacitor. The beige area indicates the dielectric.
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Lines of force are created by opposite charges
The unit for Capacitance is the Farad (F)

1 Farad = 1 Coloumb/1V
Usually specified un Micro-Farads (uF)
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Characteristics of a Capacitor
• Capacitance is directly proportional to the physical size of
the plates as determined by the plate area
• Capacitance is inversely proportional to the distance
between the plates
• The measure of the dielectric material’s ability to establish
an electric field is called the dielectric constant.
Capacitance is directly proportional to the dielectric
constant
• The measure of how much voltage a capacitor can handle
across it’s plates is called dielectric strength or breakdown
voltage. All capacitors specify a safe voltage at which to
operate the capacitor.
• Most capacitors have a very thin dielectric and a very large
plate area (often stacked or rolled up).
Capacitance is directly proportional to plate area (A)
Less plate area = Less Capacitance

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Capacitance is inversely proportional to the distance d between the plates
More distance between plates = Less Capacitance

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Charging a capacitor
Uncharged Cap Charging Cap Charged Cap No current except for

Appears as a short Current drops and
Appears as an open leakage current and
the instant the switch voltage across cap
All current stops and capacitor stores the
is closed rises VC = VS charge
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Discharging a Capacitor
Current reverses: Back to where it

High at first then started
drops as voltage
drops
•This phenomenon often makes it appear that current is passing through the cap
•It does not
•The reversing current goes back to the supply
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Fixed Capacitors
• Stacked-foil mica capacitors are made of alternate layers of metal foil and thin
sheets of mica
• Silver mica are formed by stacking mica sheets with silver electrode material
screened on them
• Range from 1pF to 0.1 uF @ 2500V
Low Capacitance @ High Voltage

Fixed Capacitors
• Ceramic capacitors provide very high dielectric
constants, and relatively large capacitance in a
small physical size
• Capacitance ranges are from 1pF to 2.2µF @
2500V
Medium Capacitance @ High Voltage

(a) Typical ceramic capacitors with radial leads. (b) Construction view
Up to 2.2uF @ 6kV
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Medium Capacitance @ Very High Voltage Copyright ©2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Electronics Fundamentals, 6e
Electrolytic Capacitors
• Two common types of electrolytic
capacitors are Aluminum and Tantalum
electrolytics
• Safety Warning: The voltage polarity of
these devices must be observed, as reversal
of polarity will usually result in complete
destruction of the capacitor
Electrolytic Capacitors
• Electrolytic capacitors have higher capacitance but
lower voltage ratings and higher leakage current
• They come in capacitance values from 1µF to
200,000 µF, with voltage ratings to 350 V
High Capacitance @ Low (Polarized) Voltage

Basic construction of axial-lead tubular plastic-film dielectric capacitor.
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Electrolytic capacitors
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Construction view of a typical “tear drop” shaped tantalum electrolytic capacitor
“Tear Drop” shaped tantalum electrolytic capacitor.

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Variable Capacitors
• Variable capacitors are used in circuits when there
is a need to adjust the capacitance value
• Ceramic or mica is a common dielectric
• Capacitance is changed by plate separation
FIGURE 9-16 Schematic symbol for a variable capacitor.
Schematic symbol for a variable capacitor.
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Variable Air Capacitor
•Air Capacitors are used in high frequency (RF)

applications
•The space between the plates (air) is the dielectric
•This is an example of a variable air capacitor probably
used in a radio tuner
Series Capacitors
• When capacitors are connected in series, the total
capacitance is less than the smallest capacitance value
• This is because the effective plate separation increases
1
1/C1 + 1/C2 + 1/C3 + … + 1/Cn
Capacitors in series produce a total capacitance that is less than the smallest value
CT = 76.7pF
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•In a DC Circuit, current stops flowing when the smallest cap is charged
•Vs = VC1 + VC2
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Capacitor Voltages – The smallest cap holds the largest voltage
And versa visa (The smallest cap charges first halting all current flow)
FIGURE 9-22 P 406
V x = (CT/Cx)VS
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Parallel Capacitors
• The total parallel capacitance is the sum of all
capacitors in parallel
CT = C1 + C2 + C3 + … + Cn
• This is because the effective plate area increases
FIGURE 9-24
CT = 560 pF
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FIGURE 9-26
CT = .133uF
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FIGURE 9-23 P 407 Capacitors in parallel produce a total capacitance that is the sum of the individual capacitances.
•Current doesn’t stop until all caps are charged

•VC1 = VC2
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RC Time Constant
• The voltage across a capacitor cannot
change instantaneously because a finite time
is required to move charge from one point
to another (limited by circuit resistance)
• The time constant of a series RC circuit is a
time interval that equals the product of the
resistance and the capacitance
τ = RC
Current and voltage in a charging and discharging capacitor
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Charging and Discharging
• The charging curve is an increasing exponential
• The discharging curve is a decreasing exponential
• It takes 5 time constants to change the voltage by
99% (charging or discharging), this is called the
transient time
Charge and discharge curves shown together
Charge v
Charge i
Discharge v & i
Formulas for instantaneous charging and discharge
voltages and currents
* = On Quiz
General Instantaneous Charging Voltage Formula:

(Determine Instantaneous Voltage Charging From an Initial Instantaneous Value)
Determine Instantaneous Voltages Charging From 0V *
Determine Instantaneous Voltages Discharging to 0V *
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Determining the instantaneous voltage during
capacitor charge
Determine the Instantaneous Voltage across the capacitor at 50 uS
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Determining the instantaneous voltage during capacitor
discharge
Determine the capacitor voltage 6 ms after the switch is closed

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The capacitor is charged
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Capacitive Reactance, XC
• Capacitive reactance (XC) is the opposition to
sinusoidal current, expressed in ohms
• The rate of change of voltage is directly related to
frequency
• As the frequency increases, the rate of change of
voltage increases, and thus current ( i ) increases
• An increase in i means that there is less opposition
to current (XC is less)
• XC is inversely proportional to i and to frequency
The current in a capacitive circuit varies directly with the frequency of the source
voltage
Because the voltage rate of change is higher at higher frequencies,

the capacitive current increases proportionately with the frequency
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For a fixed voltage and frequency, the current varies directly with the capacitance
value
Relationship of Capacitance and Current

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Rate of change of a sine wave increases when frequency increases
Formula for XC
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Determine XC in the circuit below
FIGURE 9-41 P 418
1 kHz
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Ohm’s Law for Capacitors
Vrms = I XC
Irms = Vrms/Xc
Xc = VrmsI
Determine the RMS Current in the circuit below
Approx. Equivalent Circuit
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Capacitors in ac Circuits
• When a sine wave signal is applied to a capacitor,
the instantaneous capacitor current is equal to the
capacitance times the instantaneous rate of change
of the voltage across the capacitor
• This rate of change is a maximum positive when
the rising sine wave crosses zero
• This rate of change is a maximum negative when
the falling sine wave crosses zero
• The rate of change is zero at the maximum and
minimum of the sine wave
The rates of change of a sine wave
The higher the rate of voltage change, the higher the capacitor current
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Analysis of Capacitive ac Circuit
VC ≈ VS
• The current leads the voltage by 90° in
a purely capacitive ac circuit (ICE)
• This is because:
– Current in a capacitor is dependent
upon the rate of voltage change
– The highest rate of change in
voltage is when it crosses zero
volts.
• This is also when the
capacitor is closer to being
discharged and easily accepts
higher current change.
– The least rate of change in voltage
is near the peak voltage
– There is zero rate of change in
voltage at peak.
• This is also when the
capacitor is closest to being
Close Close Close Close
charged and doesn’t easily to to to to
accept much current change. Discharged Charged Discharged Charged
Current is always leading the capacitor voltage by 90°
IC
+90o (Lead)
VS, VC
o
0 (Reference)
Vector Diagram
Close Close Close Close

to to to to
Discharged Charged Discharged Charged
Power in a Capacitor
(Purely Capacitive Circuit)
• Energy is stored by the capacitor during a portion
of the voltage cycle; then the stored energy is
returned to the source during another portion of
the cycle
• True power (Ptrue) is zero, since no energy is
consumed by the capacitor. It just shifts back and
forth between the cap and the source.
• Reactive Power (Pr)The overall rate at which a
capacitor stores and returns energy. Unit: (VAR)
• Instantaneous power (p) is the instantaneous
product of v and i at any given time.
True Power (Ptrue) = 0
•There is no energy dissipation, just energy transfer (Except for leakage current)
•The current just shifts back and forth between the cap and the source
FIGURE 9-45 Power curve for a capacitor.
(Reactive)
Reactive Power Formulas
Instantaneous Power: Instantaneous Values
•Power is 0 when either V or I are 0

•Power is maximum when V or I are equal (positive or negative)
•Power Frequency is 2X the source frequency
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Determine
FIGURE 9-46
the true power and reactive power for the circuit below
Ptrue = 0
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Capacitor Applications
• Since capacitors “pass” ac (Signals) and do not
pass DC, they are used for DC blocking and ac
signal coupling between circuit stages
• Capacitors are used for filtering in power supplies
• Capacitors are used to eliminate unwanted ac
signals
An application of a capacitor used to block DC and couple ac in an amplifier
Un-Biased Signal Biased Signal
Capacitors “Pass AC and Block DC”

(Pass Signals/Changing Current and Block DC)
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FIGURE 9-55 Capacitively coupled amplifier.
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Basic block diagram and operation of a dc power supply
Capacitors can also be used to filter out unwanted signals or ripple
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Half-wave and full-wave rectifier operation
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Basic operation of a power supply filter capacitor
The capacitance of the filter capacitor(s) is usually fairly large
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Example of the operation of a bypass capacitor
Input
Output
Unwanted Signal is “Passed” or”Shunted” to ground

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More Capacitor Applications
• Capacitors are used in filters, to select one ac signal
with a certain specified frequency from a wide
range of signals with many different frequencies
– For example, the selection of one radio station and
rejecting the others (High/Low/Bandpass Filters)
• Capacitors are used in timing circuits to generate
time delays, based on the RC time constant
• Dynamic memories used in computers are simply
very tiny capacitors used as a storage element
Checking a capacitor with an analog ohmmeter. This check shows a good capacitor.
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A typical capacitance meter. (Courtesy of B+K Precision)
Capacitance meters are also included in most modern multimeters too

Capacitors

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Chapter 9

No Current flows through a capacitor except for undesired leakage current.

The unit for Capacitance is the Farad (F)

Less plate area = Less Capacitance

More distance between plates = Less Capacitance

Uncharged Cap Charging Cap Charged Cap No current except for

Current reverses: Back to where it

Low Capacitance @ High Voltage

Medium Capacitance @ High Voltage

High Capacitance @ Low (Polarized) Voltage

“Tear Drop” shaped tantalum electrolytic capacitor.

Schematic symbol for a variable capacitor.

•Air Capacitors are used in high frequency (RF)

•Current doesn’t stop until all caps are charged

General Instantaneous Charging Voltage Formula:

Determine Instantaneous Voltages Charging From 0V *

Determine Instantaneous Voltages Discharging to 0V *

Determine the Instantaneous Voltage across the capacitor at 50 uS

Determine the capacitor voltage 6 ms after the switch is closed

Because the voltage rate of change is higher at higher frequencies,

Relationship of Capacitance and Current

Approx. Equivalent Circuit

Close Close Close Close

Reactive Power Formulas

Instantaneous Power: Instantaneous Values

•Power is 0 when either V or I are 0

Un-Biased Signal Biased Signal

Capacitors “Pass AC and Block DC”

The capacitance of the filter capacitor(s) is usually fairly large

Unwanted Signal is “Passed” or”Shunted” to ground

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