Capacitors for RF Applications

Michael P. Busse
Vice President

Dielectric Laboratories, Inc

2777 Rte. 20 East
Cazenovia, NY 13035
315-655-8710
315-655-8179
www.dilabs.com

Purpose

To familiarize users with the basic properties of

Ceramic Capacitors and
To demonstrate CapCad, a modeling and
selection methodology.

Outline

Application of Capacitors
Capacitor Structures
Terminology and Definitions
Electrical Properties
Physical Characteristics
Mounting Considerations
Capacitor Models
CapCad
Conclusions

Applications

Ceramic Capacitor technology covers a wide range of product

types, based upon a multitude of dielectric materials and physical
configurations. All are basically storage devices for electrical energy
which find use in varied applications in the electronics industry
including the following:

Discharge of Stored Energy

Blockage of DC Current
Coupling of Circuit Components
By-Passing of an AC Signal
Frequency Discrimination
Transient Voltage and Arc Suppression

Structures

Single Layer SLC

Two plates separated by a
dielectric.
Simple to fabricate
Area/thickness limited
Cap Ranges of .05 pF to
2000 pF

Multi Layer MLC

A parallel array of
capacitors in a common
structure.
High C/V can be achieved
More complex to
manufacture
Cap Ranges of .10 pF to
5100 pF

Definitions

Capacitor A device for storing electrical energy. The simplest

form is two separate parallel plates with a non-conducting
(dielectric) substance between them. The amount of energy that
can be stored depends on the Area (A), Dielectric Constant (K),
and the Thickness (t) of the dielectric. C=KA(.2246)/t (.2246 is a
conversion factor in English, for Metric 0.0884). The area can be
manipulated by the structure.

Capacitance A unit of measure describing the electrical storage

capacity of a capacitor. Capacitance is measured in farads,
microfarad (millionth of a farad), nanofarad (billionth of a farad or
10-9), or in picofarad (trillionth of a farad or 10-12).

Dielectric Any material which has the ability to store electrical

energy. In a DLI capacitor, it is non-conducting ceramic between
the plates. In general, capacitors can utilize any dielectrics such
as air, or naturally occurring dielectrics such as mica.

Definitions
Classes of Dielectrics Two basic groups (Class 1 and Class 2)
are used in the manufacture of ceramic chip capacitors.
Class 1 dielectrics display the most stable characteristics of
frequency, voltage, time and temperature coefficients (TC). TC
is expressed as a % of capacitance change from a reference
or parts per million per degree C (ppm/C).
Class 2 dielectrics offer much higher dielectric constants but
with less stable properties with temperature, voltage,
frequency, and time. TC is expressed as a % change from a
reference (+- 15% over some range of temperature)

Common Dielectrics
Vacuum

1.0

Air

1.004

Mylar

Paper

4 to 6

Mica

4 to 8

Glass

3.7 to 19

Alumina

9.9

Ceramics

5 to 18000 +

Definitions

Dielectric Constant (K) The calculated measurement of a material

which defines its capacity to store electrical energy. A higher K
signifies a higher capacitance per unit at the test temperature.

Electrode The metallic plates that are the top and bottom of a
single dielectric layer. In a SLC (Single Layer Capacitor), the outer
metallized plates form the electrodes. In an MLC (Multi Layer
Capacitor), the metal print that alternates between the ceramic
layers form the electrodes.

Electrical Properties

IR = Insulation Resistance
DC Resistance which is a function of the dielectric. It is the
ability of the capacitor to oppose the flow of electricity at a given
direct voltage.
DF = Dissipation Factor
Loss Tangent is the ratio of energy used up by a working
capacitor divided by the amount of energy stored over a definite
period of time. It is a measure of the capacitors operating
efficiency.
ESR = Equivalent Series Resistance
The effective resistance to the passage of RF energy

Electrical Properties

Dielectric Withstanding Voltage (DWV) is a measurement of the

electrical strength of the dielectric at 2 times the rated voltage.

Temperature Coefficient (TC) is a measure of how the capacitance

changes with temperature.

Tolerance is the amount of variation allowed from a target value. It

is normally expressed as an Alpha character, for example a J
tolerance would be + 5%.

Voltage Conditioning is a test that applies heat and voltage to the

parts for a set number of hours to accelerate failure mechanisms
and identify rejects.

Q = Quality Factor is a numeric expression of the relative loss of a

capacitor. Most commonly described as the storage factor of a
capacitor and is the reciprocal of the Dissipation Factor.
Q is defined as
Q=1/2FC(ESR)
F=frequency
C=capacitance
For any given capacitance at a given frequency, the highest Q part
will have the lowest ESR

Physical Considerations

Size equates to Voltage Rating

Larger case sizes have greater voltage capabilities
Smaller case sizes have higher series resonance characteristics

The separation between the internal electrodes dominates voltage

rating

The dielectric has to be an insulator

The dielectric will determine the properties of the capacitor

Mounting Considerations

Capacitor Models

Reasonable prediction to
the first series resonance
Predicted behavior above
series resonance doesnt
match observed results.

Transmission Line Model

Treats the capacitor as
an open circuited
transmission Line
Results closely match
measured data

CapCad V3

Modeling software to simplify the selection of the right capacitor.

Easy to use graphical interface

Export and Import s2p files

Smith chart graphing

Includes Spice Modeling

Link:CapCadV3 and CapCal

Conclusion

Capacitors present more of a challenge to selection than just the

capacitance

The Physical as well as the Electrical properties must be taken into

consideration

Proper Modeling Tools can simplify the selection

Thank You !