Capacitors

and
Capacitance
capacitors
• They are another fundamental building block in electronic
circuits.
• They can be defined as the ability to store electrical energy
in electrostatic field.
• They are devices design to have a certain capacitance.
• The unit of measure is Farad.
• The usual function of the capacitor is to block the DC
voltage but pass the AC signal voltage by means of the
charge and discharge current.
• The schematic symbol is:
 Capacitor
Capacitance Construction

Total Capacitance
Energy Storage

Time-Varying Voltages and Currents

Capacitor Current

Single-Capacitor DC-Excited Circuits

RC Timers and Oscillators

capacitance
• It is the ability to hold or store an
electric charge.
• The more charge stored for a given
voltage, the higher the capacitance.
• The symbol for capacitance is (C), and
the unit is the farad (F), named after
Michael Faraday.
capacitance
Parallel Plate Capacitor
• In a parallel plate capacitor, capacitance is directly
proportional to the surface area of the conductor plates
and inversely proportional to the separation distance
between the plates. If the charges on the plates are
+Q and −Q respectively, and V gives the voltage between
the plates, then the capacitance C is given by:
𝑄
𝐶=
𝑉
• Which gives the voltage/current
𝑑𝑉(𝑡)
𝐼(𝑡) = 𝐶
𝑑𝑡
capacitance
Sample Problems
1. How much charge is stored in a 2μF capacitor connected across a
50V supply?
𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉 = 2 × 10−6 × 50 = 100 𝜇𝐶
2. How much charge is stored in a 40μF capacitor connected across
a 50V supply?
𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉 = 40 × 10−6 × 50 = 2000 𝜇𝐶
3. The voltage across a 40 × 10−6 C charged capacitor is 20v.
Calculate C.
𝑄 40 × 10−6
𝐶= = = 2 𝜇𝐹
𝑉 20
capacitance
Sample Problems
4. A constant current of 5mA charges a 10μF capacitor for 1s. How
much is the voltage across the capacitor?
Find the stored charge first:
𝑄 = 𝐼 × 𝑡 = 5 × 10−3 × 1 = 5 𝑚𝐶
Solve for voltage:
𝑄 5 × 10−3
𝑉= = −6
= 500 𝑉
𝐶 10 × 10
capacitor construction
A capacitor is consists of
• two conductor (called
plates) separated by
• an insulator called
dielectric.
capacitor construction
There are three basic factors of
capacitor construction
determining the amount of
capacitance created.
• Plate Area
• Plate Separation
• Dielectric Material
capacitor construction
• PLATE AREA: All other factors being equal, greater plate area gives
greater capacitance; less plate area gives less capacitance.

• PLATE SEPARATION: All other factors being equal, further plate

spacing gives less capacitance; closer plate spacing gives greater
capacitance.

• DIELECTRIC MATERIAL: All other factors being equal, greater

permittivity of the dielectric gives greater capacitance; less
permittivity of the dielectric gives less capacitance.
capacitor construction
An approximation of
capacitance for any pair of
separated conductors can be
found with this formula:
10 −12 𝐹
𝐴𝜀𝑟 (8.85 × ൗ𝑚)
𝐶 =
𝑑
Where,
C = Capacitance
𝜀𝑟 = Dielectric constants
A = Area of plate overlap in square meters
d = Distance between plates in meters
capacitor construction
Sample Problems:
1. Calculate C for two plates, each with an area 2 sq. m , separated
by 1 cm, with a dielectric of air. (Ans. 1.77 nF)
−12
2
2𝑚 1.0 8.85 × 10 𝐹ൗ
𝑚
𝐶 = = 1.77 𝑛𝐹
0.01𝑚
2. Determine the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor having a
plate area of 0.01 sq. m and a plate separation of 2.54 × 10−5
m. The dielectric is mica.
−12
2
0.01𝑚 5.0 8.85 × 10 𝐹ൗ
𝑚
𝐶 = = 0.017μ𝐹
2.54 × 10−5 𝑚
capacitor construction
Sample Problems:
3. Determine C where A=0.005 sq. m, d=7.62 × 10−5 m, and
ceramic is the dielectric.
2 10 −12 𝐹
0.005𝑚 1.0 8.85 × ൗ𝑚
𝐶 = = 6.97 μ𝐹
7.62 × 10−5 𝑚
capacitor construction
Mica Capacitors
• Thin mica sheets as the dielectric are stacked between tinfoil
sections for the conducting plates to provide the required
capacitance. Alternate strips of tinfoil are connected and
brought out as one terminal for one set of plates, and the
opposite terminal connects to the other set of interlaced
plates.
• Mica capacitors are often used for small capacitance values of
about 10 to 5000 pF.
capacitor construction
capacitor construction
Paper Capacitors
• Two rolls of tinfoil conductor separated by a paper dielectric are
rolled into a compact cylinder. Each outside lead connects to its roll
of tinfoil as a plate. The entire cylinder is generally placed in a
cardboard container coated with wax or encased in plastic.
• Paper capacitors are often used for medium capacitance values of
0.001 to 1.0 F, approximately.
• The size of a 0.05- F capacitor is typically 1 in. long and 3⁄8-in. in
diameter.
capacitor construction
capacitor construction
Film Capacitors
• Film capacitors are constructed much like paper capacitors except
that the paper dielectric is replaced with a plastic fi lm such as
polypropylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate, or polyethelene
terepthalate (Mylar).
• Film capacitors are very temperature-stable and are therefore used
frequently in circuits that require very stable capacitance values as
in radio-frequency oscillators and timer circuits.
capacitor construction
capacitor construction
Ceramic Capacitors
• The ceramic materials used in ceramic capacitors are made from
earth fired under extreme heat.
• Most ceramic capacitors come in disk form, some in axial leads
form.
• Ceramic capacitors are available with values of 1 pF (or less) up to
about 1 F.
capacitor construction
capacitor construction
Surface-Mount Capacitors
• Like resistors, capacitors are also available as surface-mounted
components.
• They are often called chip capacitors.
• Chip capacitors are constructed by placing a ceramic dielectric
material between layers of conductive film which form the
capacitor plates.
capacitor construction
capacitor construction
Electrolytic Capacitors
• Electrolytic capacitors are commonly used for C values ranging
from about 1 to 6800 F because electrolytic provide the most
capacitance in the smallest space with least cost.
• They can be polarized or non polarized.
capacitor construction
total capacitance
Series Connection
• When connected in series, the total capacitance is less than the
value of any individual capacitances.
total capacitance
Sample Problems

Solution:
total capacitance
1. Find the overall capacitance and the individual rms voltage drops
across the following sets of two capacitors in series when
connected to a 12V a.c. supply.
a) two capacitors each with a capacitance of 47nF
b) one capacitor of 470nF connected in series to a capacitor
of 1uF
total capacitance
Solution
• a) Total Capacitance

• b) Total Capacitance,
total capacitance
Parallel Connection
• When capacitors are connected in parallel, the total capacitance is
equal to the sum of the individual capacitances.
total capacitance
Sample Problem
Find the total capacitance

Solution:
CT = C1 + C2 + C3 = 0.1uF + 0.2uF + 0.3uF = 0.6uF