Capacitors and Inductors

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

Conductors Dielectric
 The Capacitor
VVSS Die le c tric

The charging ++
+++


Le a d s
process… +++ ++
+++  Pla te s
++ 
+++ +
 +
Initially uncharged   ++
+
 


 ++ + 

Charging +
++
+

+

Ele c tro n s

+ +  B
+ 
Fully charged  AAA + BB
   +    
Source removed

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

Capacitance
Capacitance is the ratio of charge to voltage
Q
C
V
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
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,
Q  CV
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

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

The capacitance of a capacitor depends on

three physical characteristics.
 A
C  8.85 1012 F/m  r 
 d 
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.   4.0 for oil 
r

 r A 
12
C  8.85 10 F/m  
 d 
2
2

The plate area is A  πr   0.02 m  1.26 10 m
3 2

3
The distance between the plates is 0.25 10 m
  4.0  1.26 103 m 2  
C  8.85  1012 F/m    178 pF
 0.25 103 m 
 
 Capacitor types

Mica
Mica capacitors are small with high working voltage.
The working voltage is the voltage limit that cannot
be exceeded.

Fo il
Mic a
Fo il
Mic a
Fo il
Mic a
Fo il
Capacitor types
Ceramic disk
Ceramic disks are small nonpolarized capacitors They
have relatively high capacitance due to high r.

Le a d wire so ld e re d
to silve r e le c tro d e

So ld e r

Dip p e d p h e n o lic c o a tin g

C e ra m ic
d ie le c tric Silv e r e le c tro d e s d e p o site d o n
to p a n d b o tto m o f c e ra m ic d isk
Capacitor types
Plastic Film
Plastic film capacitors are small and nonpolarized. They
have relatively high capacitance due to larger plate area.

Hig h -p u rity
fo il e le c tro d e s

Pla stic film

d ie le c tric

O u te r wra p o f
p o lye ste r film
C a p a c ito r se c tio n
(a lte rn a te strip s o f
film d ie le c tric a n d
Le a d wire fo il e le c tro d e s)
So ld e r c o a te d e n d
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.

_
Al electrolytic

Ta electrolytic
Symbol for any electrolytic capacitor
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.
Capacitor labeling
Capacitors use several labeling methods. Small
capacitors values are frequently stamped on them such
as .001 or .01, which have units of microfarads.
Electrolytic capacitors have larger

47VTTMFVTT
values, so are read as F. The unit is usually

+ ++ +
stamped as F, but some older ones may be
shown as MF or MMF).
. 022
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

What is the value of

each capacitor? Both are 2200 pF.
Series capacitors
When capacitors are connected in series, the total
capacitance is smaller than the smallest one. The
general equation for capacitors in series is
1
CT 
1 1 1 1
   ... 
C1 C2 C3 CT
The total capacitance of two capacitors is
1
CT 
1 1

C1 C2
…or you can use the product-over-sum rule
Series capacitors

If a 0.001 F capacitor is connected

in series with an 800 pF capacitor,
the total capacitance is 444 pF

C1 C2

0.001 µ F 800 pF
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
C1 C2
connected in parallel with
an 800 pF capacitor, the 0.001 µ F 800 pF
total capacitance is 1800 pF
 Vfin a l

Capacitors in dc circuits
When a capacitor is charged
through a series resistor and 0 t
dc source, the charging curve (a ) C a p a c ito r c ha rg ing vo lta g e
is exponential.
R Iin itia l

0 t
(b ) C ha rg ing c urre nt
 Capacitors in dc circuits

When a capacitor is discharged V in itia l

through a resistor, the

discharge curve is also an
exponential. (Note that the
current is negative.) 0 t

( a ) C a p a c it o r d is c h a r g in g v o lt a g e
R
Iin itia l
C

0 t

( b ) D is c h a rg in g c u rre n t
Capacitors in dc circuits

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

VS
C VR

The current has the same shape as VR.

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

Universal 63%
60%
exponential
curves
40%
37%
Falling exponential
20%
14%
5%
2% 1%
0
 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)e-t/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 that 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
1
XC 
2πfC

The reactance of a 0.047 F capacitor when a

frequency of 15 kHz is applied is 226 
 Capacitive phase shift

When a sine wave is

applied to a capacitor, VC
0
there is a phase shift
between voltage and 90o
current such that current
always leads the voltage
I
by 90o. 0
 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).
 Switched capacitors
Switched capacitors move charge in a specific time interval
between two points that are different voltages. The
switched capacitors emulate a resistor with a value of
R=1/fC. Switched capacitors are widely used in certain
types of integrated circuits because they can be made very
small, have virtually no drift, and do not dissipate heat.
0 T/ 2 T
Position 1 Position 1 Position 1
I1 1 2
V1 V2
+ C +
- - Position 2 Position 2

0 T /2 T
 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)
 Inductors
• Inductors are coils of various dimensions designed
to introduce specified amounts of inductance into a
circuit.
• The inductance of a coil varies directly with the
magnetic properties of the coil.
• Ferromagnetic materials, are frequently employed to
increase the inductance by increasing the flux
linking the coil.
• Inductance is measured in Henries (H)
• 1 Henry is the inductance level that will establish a
voltage of 1 volt across the coil
 Inductors
• An inductor is a passive two-terminal electrical
component that stores energy in its magnetic field.
• An inductor is typically made of a wire or other
conductor wound into a coil, to increase the magnetic
field.
• When the current flowing through an inductor
changes, creating a time-varying magnetic field inside
the coil, a voltage is induced, according to Faraday's
law of electromagnetic induction
• Inductors are one of the basic components used in
electronics where current and voltage change with
time, due to the ability of inductors to delay and
reshape alternating currents.
Inductors

Inductor symbols
 FARADAY’S LAW OF
ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION
If a conductor is moved through a The greater the number of flux lines cut
magnetic field so that it cuts per unit Time or the stronger the magnetic
magnetic lines of flux, a voltage field strength, the greater will be the
will be induced across the induced voltage across the conductor.
conductor

Equation for voltage induced Increase the number of magnetic flux

across a coil if a coil of N turns is lines by increasing the speed with which
placed in the region of a changing the conductor passes through the field
flux
 Faraday’s law induced voltage equation
N = number of turns of the coil

= is the instantaneous change in flux (in webers)

If the flux linking the coil ceases to change

&

Equation for inductance of the coils

N = number of turns µ is not a constant but
µ = permeability of the core depends on the level of
A = area of the core B and H, since µ = B/H
in square meters
l = the mean length of the core in meters.
Substituting µ = µr µo into Equation we get

Lo is the inductance of the coil with an air core

Relative size of different types of
inductors
 Types of Inductors

• Inductors like Capacitor can be fixed

or variable
Equivalent circuit for the inductor
To solve Sheet 1

Given i(t) find v(t)

di
v  L
dt
Energy Storage in an Inductor
di
p  vi  Li W
dt

t t t
di
 p (t )dt  L  i dt dt  L  idi
to t
o to
1 2 1 2
Thus, w L (t )  w L (to )  Li (t )  Li (t o ) J
2 2
1 2
w L (t )  Li (t ) if i(to) = 0
2
 1
w C (t )  w C (t o )  C v 2 (t )  v 2 (t o ) 
2  

1
w C (t )  Cv 2 (t )
2