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The Basic Capacitor

Capacitors are one of the fundamental passive components. In its most basic form, it is composed of two conductive plates separated by an insulating dielectric. The ability to store charge is the definition of capacitance.
Conductors Dielectric

The Basic Capacitor

VS VS
Dielectric

The charging process Sourcecharged Initiallyremoved Fully uncharged Charging

Leads

+ + + ++ ++ + + + + ++ ++ + + + + ++ + + + + ++ A AA +
+

++ Plates + + + Electrons + + B B B

A capacitor with stored charge can act as a temporary battery.

Capacitance
Capacitance is the ratio of charge to voltage
Q C= V

Capacitance
An analogy: Imagine you store rubber bands in a bottle that is nearly full. You could store more rubber bands (like charge or Q) in a bigger bottle (capacitance or C) or if you push them in more (voltage or V). Thus,

Rearranging, the amount of charge on a capacitor is determined by the size of the capacitor (C) and the voltage (V). Q = CV If a 22 F capacitor is connected to a 10 V source, the charge is 220 C

Q = CV

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Capacitance
A capacitor stores energy in the form of an electric field that is established by the opposite charges on the two plates. The energy of a charged capacitor is given by the equation
1 W = CV 2 2

Capacitance
The capacitance of a capacitor depends on three physical characteristics.
A C = 8.85 1012 F/m r d

where W = the energy in joules C = the capacitance in farads V = the voltage in volts

C is directly proportional to the relative dielectric constant and the plate area. C is inversely proportional to the distance between the plates

Capacitance
Find the capacitance of a 4.0 cm diameter sensor immersed in oil if the plates are separated by 0.25 mm. ( r = 4.0 for oil )

Capacitor types
Mica Mica capacitors are small with high working voltage. The working voltage is the voltage limit that cannot be exceeded.
Foil Mic a Foil Mic a Foil Mic a Foil

A C = 8.85 10 12 F/m r d 2 2 3 2 The plate area is A = r = 0.02 m = 1.26 10 m

The distance between the plates is 0.25 103 m

( 4.0 ) (1.26 103 m 2 ) C = 8.85 1012 F/m 0.25 103 m = 178 pF

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Capacitor types
Ceramic disk Ceramic disks are small nonpolarized capacitors They have relatively high capacitance due to high r.
Lead wire soldered to silver elec trode

Capacitor types
Plastic Film Plastic film capacitors are small and nonpolarized. They have relatively high capacitance due to larger plate area.
High-purity foil electrodes Plastic film dielec tric Outer wrap of polyester film
Dipped phenolic c oating S er elec trodes deposited on ilv top and bottom of ceram ic disk

S older Ceramic dielectric

Capacitor section (alternate strips of film dielec tric and Lead wire foil electrodes) S older c oated end

Capacitor types
Electrolytic (two types) Electrolytic capacitors have very high capacitance but they are not as precise as other types and tend to have more leakage current. Electrolytic types are polarized.

Capacitor types
Variable Variable capacitors typically have small capacitance values and are usually adjusted manually. A solid-state device that is used as a variable capacitor is the varactor diode; it is adjusted with an electrical signal.

Al electrolytic

Ta electrolytic Symbol for any electrolytic capacitor

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Capacitor labeling
Capacitors use several labeling methods. Small capacitors values are frequently stamped on them such as .001 or .01, which have implied units of microfarads. Electrolytic capacitors have larger values, so are read as F. The unit is usually stamped as F, but some older ones may be shown as MF or MMF).

Capacitor labeling
A label such as 103 or 104 is read as 10x103 (10,000 pF) or 10x104 (100,000 pF) respectively. (Third digit is the multiplier.) When values are marked as 330 or 6800, the units are picofarads. 222 2 20 0

47TTMF T VT V

.022

+ ++ +

What is the value of each capacitor? Both are 2200 pF.

Capacitors
Series capacitors
Measuring and testing The digital reading capacitance meter shown will allow you to simply place the capacitor between the provided clips with the proper polarity and the meter will display the level of capacitance.
Insert Fig 10.20

When capacitors are connected in series, the total capacitance is smaller than the smallest one. The general equation for capacitors in series is
CT = 1 1 1 1 1 + + + ... + C1 C2 C3 CT
1 1 1 + C1 C2

The total capacitance of two capacitors is

CT =

or you can use the product-over-sum rule

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Series capacitors

Parallel capacitors
When capacitors are connected in parallel, the total capacitance is the sum of the individual capacitors. The general equation for capacitors in parallel is
CT = C1 + C2 + C3 + ...Cn

If a 0.001 F capacitor is connected in series with an 800 pF capacitor, the total capacitance is 444 pF

C1 0.001 F

C2 800 pF

If a 0.001 F capacitor is connected in parallel with an 800 pF capacitor, the total capacitance is 1800 pF

C1 0.001 F

C2 800 pF

Vfinal

The RC time constant

When a capacitor is charged through a series resistor and dc source, the charging curve is exponential.
R C

The RC time constant

When a capacitor is discharged through a resistor, the discharge curve is also an exponential. (Note that the current is negative.)
R C
0 (b) Charging current t

V initial

0 t (a) Capacitor c harging voltage

t 0 (a) Capacitor disc harging voltage

Iinitial

Iinitial

0 (b) Discharging current

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The RC time constant

The same shape curves are seen if a square wave is used for the source.
What is the shape of the current curve?
R C

Universal exponential curves

VS Specific values for current and voltage can be read from a universal curve. For an RC circuit, the time constant is
100% 95% 80% Percent of final value 63% 86% 98% 99%

VC

Rising exponential
60%

40%

VS

VR

= RC

37%

Falling exponential
20% 14% 5% 2% 1% 5

The current has the same shape as VR.

0 0

2 3 4 Number of time constants

Universal exponential curves

The universal curves can be applied to general formulas for the voltage (or current) curves for RC circuits. The general voltage formula is v =VF + (Vi VF)et/RC VF = final value of voltage Vi = initial value of voltage v = instantaneous value of voltage The final capacitor voltage is greater than the initial voltage when the capacitor is charging, or less than the initial voltage when it is discharging.

Capacitive reactance
Capacitive reactance is the opposition to ac by a capacitor. The equation for capacitive reactance is
XC = 1 2fC

The reactance of a 0.047 F capacitor when a frequency of 15 kHz is applied is 226

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Capacitive reactance
When capacitors are in series, the total reactance is the sum of the individual reactances. That is,
X C(tot ) = X C1 + X C2 + X C3 + + X Cn

Capacitive reactance
When capacitors are in parallel, the total reactance is the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of the individual reactances. That is,
X C(tot ) = 1 1 1 1 1 + + + + X C1 X C2 X C3 X Cn

Assume three 0.033 F capacitors are in series with a 2.5 kHz ac source. What is the total reactance? The reactance of each capacitor is
XC = 1 1 = = 1.93 k 2fC 2 ( 2.5 kHz )( 0.033 F )

If the three 0.033 F capacitors from the last example are placed in parallel with the 2.5 kHz ac source, what is the total reactance? The reactance of each capacitor is 1.93 k
X C(tot ) = 1 1 = = 643 1 1 1 1 1 1 + + + + X C1 X C2 X C3 1.93 k 1.93 k 1.93 k

X C(tot ) = X C1 + X C2 + X C3 = 1.93 k + 1.93 k + 1.93 k = 5.79 k

Capacitive Voltage Divider

Two capacitors in series are commonly used as a capacitive voltage divider. The capacitors split the output voltage in proportion to their reactance (and inversely proportional to their capacitance). What is the output voltage for the capacitive voltage divider?
1 1 = = 4.82 k 2fC1 2 ( 33 kHz )(1000 pF ) 1 1 = = = 482 2fC2 2 ( 33 kHz )( 0.01 F ) X C1 =
= 4.82 k + 482 = 5.30 k
Vout X 482 = C 2 Vs = 1.0 V = 91 mV X 5.30 k C ( tot )
1.0 V f = 33 kHz

Capacitive Voltage Divider

Instead of using a ratio of reactances in the capacitor voltage divider equation, you can use a ratio of the total series capacitance to the output capacitance (multiplied by the input voltage). The result is the same. For the problem presented in the last slide,
C(tot ) =
C1 1000 pF C2 Vout 0.01 F

(1000 pF )( 0.01 F ) = 909 pF C1C2 = C1 + C2 1000 pF + 0.01 F

909 pF Vs = 1.0 V = 91 mV 0.01 F
C1 1000 pF 1.0 V f = 33 kHz C2 Vout 0.01 F

X C2

X C (tot ) = X C1 + X C 2

C Vout = ( tot ) C2

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Capacitive phase shift

When a sine wave is applied to a capacitor, there is a phase shift between voltage and current such that current always leads the voltage by 90o.

Power in a capacitor
Energy is stored by the capacitor during a portion of the ac cycle and returned to the source during another portion of the cycle. Voltage and current are always 90o out of phase. For this reason, no true power is dissipated by a capacitor, because stored energy is returned to the circuit. The rate at which a capacitor stores or returns energy is called reactive power. The unit for reactive power is the VAR (volt-ampere reactive).

VC

0 90
o

Energy Stored by a Capacitor

Power supply filtering
The ideal capacitor does not dissipate any energy supplied to it. It stores the energy in the form of an electric field between the conducting surfaces. The power curve can be obtained by finding the product of the voltage and current at selected instants of time and connecting the points obtained. WC is the area under the curve.

There are many applications for capacitors. One is in filters, such as the power supply filter shown here.
Rectifier 60 Hz ac C Load resistance

The filter smoothes the pulsating dc from the rectifier.

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Coupling capacitors
Coupling capacitors are used to pass an ac signal from one stage to another while blocking dc.
3V 0V 0V

Bypass capacitors
Another application is to bypass an ac signal to ground but retain a dc value. This is widely done to affect gain in amplifiers.
dc plus ac 0V dc only 0V

+V R1 Amplifier stage 2 R2 Output

The capacitor isolates dc Input between the amplifier stages, preventing dc in one stage from affecting the other stage.

C Amplifier stage 1

The bypass capacitor places point A at ac ground, keeping only a dc value at point A.

R1 A Point in circuit where R 2 only dc is required C

Selected Key Terms

Capacitor An electrical device consisting of two conductive plates separated by an insulating material and possessing the property of capacitance. Dielectric The insulating material between the conductive plates of a capacitor. Farad The unit of capacitance. RC time A fixed time interval set by the R and C values, constant that determine the time response of a series RC circuit. It equals the product of the resistance and the capacitance.

Selected Key Terms

Capacitive The opposition of a capacitor to sinusoidal reactance current. The unit is the ohm. Instantaneous The value of power in a circuit at a given power (p) instant of time. True power The power that is dissipated in a circuit (Ptrue) usually in the form of heat. Reactive The rate at which energy is alternately stored power (Pr ) and returned to the source by a capacitor. The unit is the VAR. VAR The unit of reactive power. (volt-ampere reactive)

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Quiz
1. The capacitance of a capacitor will be larger if a. the spacing between the plates is increased. b. air replaces oil as the dielectric. c. the area of the plates is increased. d. all of the above.

Quiz
2. The capacitance of two capacitors connected in series will is analogous to a. two resistors connected in series b. two resistors connected in parallel c. none of the above. d. all of the above.

Quiz
3. Electrolytic capacitors are useful in applications where a. a precise value of capacitance is required. b. low leakage current is required. c. large capacitance is required. d. all of the above.

Quiz
4. If a 0.015 F capacitor is in series with a 6800 pF capacitor, the total capacitance is a. 1568 pF. b. 4678 pF. c. 6815 pF. d. 0.022 F.

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Quiz
5. Two capacitors that are initially uncharged are connected in series with a dc source. Compared to the larger capacitor, the smaller capacitor will have a. the same charge. b. more charge. c. less voltage. d. the same voltage.

Quiz
6. When a capacitor is connected through a resistor to a dc voltage source, the charge on the capacitor will reach 50% of its final charge in a. less than one time constant. b. exactly one time constant. c. greater than one time constant. d. answer depends on the amount of voltage.

Quiz
7. When a capacitor is connected through a series resistor and switch to a dc voltage source, the voltage across the resistor after the switch is closed has the shape of a. a straight line. b. a rising exponential. c. a falling exponential. d. none of the above.

Quiz
8. The capacitive reactance of a 100 F capacitor to 60 Hz is a. 6.14 k. b. 265 . c. 37.7 . d. 26.5 .

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Quiz
9. If an sine wave from a function generator is applied to a capacitor, the current will a. lag voltage by 90o. b. lag voltage by 45o. c. be in phase with the voltage. d. none of the above.

Quiz
10. When a capacitor is used to pass an AC signal while removing DC, it is a a. decoupling capacitor. b. ripple filter capacitor. c. bypass capacitor. d. coupling capacitor.

Quiz
Answers: 1. c 2. b 3. c 4. b 5. a 6. a 7. c 8. d 9. d 10. d

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