ALL ABOUT CAPACITORS - reactance f uf nf pf farad micro nano pico block paper mica ceramic electrolytic variable insulation capacitor trim power super wattage watt capacitance frequency plastic foil plates electrodes pictures photos polarised non color bands multiplier tolerance voltage current

2. Capacitors

Capacitors are common components of electronic circuits, used almost as frequently as resistors. The basic difference between the two is the fact that capacitor resistance (called reactance) depends on the frequency of the signal passing through the item. The symbol for reactance is X_c and it can be calculated using the following formula:

f representing the frequency in Hz and C representing the capacitance in Farads.

For example, 5nF-capacitor's reactance at f=125kHz equals:

while, at f=1.25MHz, it equals:

A capacitor has an infinitely high reactance for direct current, because f=0.

Capacitors are used in circuits for many different purposes. They are common components of filters, oscillators, power supplies, amplifiers, etc.

The basic characteristic of a capacitor is its capacity -  the higher the capacity, the higher is the amount of electricity it  can hold. Capacity is measured in Farads (F). As one Farad represents fairly high capacity, smaller values such as microfarad (µF), nanofarad (nF) and picofarad (pF) are commonly used. As a reminder, relations between units are:

1F=10⁶µF=10⁹nF=10¹²pF, that is 1µF=1000nF and 1nF=1000pF. It is essential to remember this notation, as same values may be marked differently in some circuits. For example, 1500pF is the same as 1.5nF, 100nF is 0.1µF. 

A simpler notation system is used as with resistors. If the mark on the capacitor is 120 the value is 120pF, 1n2 stands for 1.2nF, n22 stands for 0.22nF, while .1µ (or .1u) stands for 0.1µF.

Capacitors come in various shapes and sizes, depending on their capacity, working voltage, type of insulation, temperature coefficient and other factors. All capacitors can divided in two groups: those with changeable capacity values and those with fixed capacity values. These will covered in the following chapters.

2.1 Block-capacitors

Capacitors with fixed values (the so called block-capacitors) consist of two thin metal plates (these are called "electrodes" or sometimes called the "foil"), separated by a thin insulating material such as plastic. The most commonly used material for the "plates" is aluminum, while the common materials used for insulator include paper, ceramic, mica, etc after which the capacitors get named. A number of different block-capacitors are shown in the photo below. A symbol for a capacitor is in the upper right corner of the image.

Most of the capacitors, block-capacitors included, are non-polarized components, meaning that their leads are equivalent in respect of the way the capacitor can be placed in a circuit. Electrolytic capacitors represent the exception as their polarity is important. This will be covered in the following chapters.

2.1.1 Marking the block-capacitors

Commonly, capacitors are marked by a set of numbers representing the capacity. Beside this value is another number representing the maximal working voltage, and sometimes tolerance, temperature coefficient and some other values are printed as well. But on the smallest capacitors (such as surface-mount) there are no markings at all and you must not remove them from their protective strips until they are needed. The size of a capacitor is never an indication of its value as the dielectric and the number of layers or "plates" can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. The value of a capacitor on a circuit diagram, marked as 4n7/40V, means the capacitor is 4,700pF and its maximal working voltage is 40v. Any other 4n7 capacitor with higher maximal working voltage can be used, but they are larger and more expensive.

Sometimes, capacitors are identified with colors, similar to the 4-band system used for resistors (figure 2.2). The first two colors (A and B) represent the first two digits, third color (C) is the multiplier, fourth color (D) is the tolerance, and the fifth color (E) is the working voltage.

With disk-ceramic capacitors (figure 2.2b) and tubular capacitors (figure 2.2c) working voltage is not specified, because these are used in circuits with low DC voltage. If a tubular capacitor has five color bands on it, the first color represents the temperature coefficient, while the other four specify the capacity in the previously described way.

The figure 2.3 shows how the capacity of miniature tantalum electrolytic capacitors are marked by colors. The first two colors represent the first two digits and have the same values as with resistors. The third color represents the multiplier, to get the capacity expressed in µF. The fourth color represents the maximal working voltage.

One important note on the working voltage: The voltage across a capacitor must not exceed the maximal working voltage as the capacitor may get destroyed. In the case when the voltage is unknown, the "worst" case should be considered. There is the possibility that, due to malfunction of some other component, the voltage on capacitor equals the power supply voltage. If, for example, the supply is 12V, the maximal working voltage for the capacitor should be higher than 12V. 

2.2 Electrolytic capacitors

Electrolytic capacitors represent the special type of capacitors with fixed capacity value. Thanks to special construction, they can have exceptionally high capacity, ranging from one to several thousand µF. They are most frequently used in circuits for filtering, however they also have other purposes.

Electrolytic capacitors are polarized components, meaning they have positive and negative leads, which is very important when connecting it to a circuit. The positive lead or pin has to be connected to the point with a higher positive voltage than the negative lead. If it is connected in reverse the insulating layer inside the capacitor will be "dissolved" and the capacitor will be permanently damaged.

Explosion may also occur if capacitor is connected to voltage that exceeds its working voltage. In order to prevent such instances, one of the capacitor's connectors is very clearly marked with a + or -, while the working voltage is printed on the case.

Several models of electrolytic capacitors, as well as their symbols, are shown on the picture below.

Tantalum capacitors represent a special type of electrolytic capacitor. Their parasitic inductance is much lower than  standard aluminum electrolytic capacitors so that tantalum capacitors with significantly (even ten times) lower capacity can completely substitute an aluminum electrolytic capacitor.

2.3 Variable capacitors

Variable capacitors are capacitors with variable capacity. Their minimal capacity ranges from 1p and their maximum capacity goes as high as few hundred pF (500pF max). Variable capacitors are manufactured in various shapes and sizes, but common features for them is a set of fixed plates (called the stator) and a set of movable plates. These plates are fitted into each other and can be taken into and out of mesh by rotating a shaft.   The insulator (dielectric) between the plates is air or a thin layer of plastic, hence the name variable capacitor. When adjusting these capacitors, it is important that the plates do not touch.

Below are photos of air-dielectric capacitors as well as mylar-insulated variable capacitors (2.5a).

The first photo shows a "ganged capacitor" in which two capacitors are rotated at the same time. This type of capacitor is used in radio receivers. The larger is used for the tuning circuit, and the smaller one in the local oscillator. The symbol for these capacitors is also shown in the photo.

Beside capacitors with air dielectric, there are also variable capacitors with solid insulator. With these, thin insulating material such as mylar occupies the space between stator and rotor. These capacitors are much more resistant to mechanical damage. They are shown in figure 2.5b.

The most common devices containing variable capacitors are radio receivers, where these are used for frequency adjustment. Semi-variable or trim capacitors are miniature capacitors, with capacity ranging from several pF to several tens of pFs. These are used for fine tuning radio receivers, radio transmitters, oscillators, etc. Three trimmers, along with their symbol, are shown on the figure 2.5d.

2.4 Practical examples

Several practical examples using capacitors are shown in figure 2.6. A 5µF electrolytic capacitor is used for DC blocking. It allows the signal to pass from one sage to the next while prevent the DC on one stage from being passed to the next stage.  This occurs because the capacitor acts like a resistor of very low resistance for the signals and as a resistor of high resistance for DC.

The figure 2.6b represents a diagram of a band-switch with two speakers, with Z1 used for reproducing low and mid-frequency signals, and Z2 for high frequency signals.  1 and 2 are connected to the audio amplifier output. Coils L1 and L2 and the capacitor C ensure that low and mid-frequency currents flow to the speaker Z1, while high frequency currents flow to Z2. How this works exactly ? In the case of a high frequency current, it can flow through either  Z1 and L1 or Z2 and C. Since the frequency is high, impedance (resistance) of the coils are high, while the capacitor's reactance is low. It is clear that in this case, current will flow through Z2. In similar fashion, in case of low-frequency signals, current will flow through Z1, due to high capacitor reactance and low coil impedance.

The figure 2.6c represents a circuit diagram for a simple detector radio-receiver (commonly called a "crystal set"), where the variable capacitor C, forming the oscillatory circuit with the coil L, is used for frequency tuning. Turning the capacitor's rotor changes the resonating frequency of the circuit, and when matching a certain radio frequency, the station can be heard.