Capacitors are components that store electricity and electrical energy (potential energy), especially in the current electronics field. At present, there are many types of capacitors, and the more common ones are ceramic capacitors and electrolytic capacitors.
So, what are the differences between ceramic capacitors and electrolytic capacitors?
First, different dielectric materials
Ceramic capacitors are also called ceramic capacitors or monolithic capacitors. As the name implies, ceramic capacitors are capacitors that use ceramics as dielectric materials.
The electrolytic capacitor metal foil is the positive electrode (aluminum or tantalum), and the oxide film (aluminum oxide or tantalum pentoxide) that is close to the metal with the positive electrode is used as the dielectric, and the cathode is made of conductive material, electrolyte (the electrolyte can be liquid or solid) and other materials. composition, hence the name since the electrolyte is the major part of the cathode.
Second, the working principle is different
Ceramic capacitors are coated with a metal film on the surface of the ceramic, and then sintered at high temperature as electrodes to form capacitors.
The metal foil of the electrolytic capacitor is the positive electrode, the oxide film close to the positive electrode is the dielectric, and the cathode is composed of conductive materials, electrolytes and other materials.
3. Different capacity
The capacitance of ceramic capacitors is generally relatively small, and is usually used in bypass (decoupling), coupling, filtering, resonance, temperature compensation, tuning, energy storage, etc.
The capacitance of electrolytic capacitors is relatively large, tens to hundreds of times larger than other types of capacitors. It is generally used in highly stable oscillation circuits, mainly as loop capacitors and pad capacitors.
4. Different polarities
It is not difficult to find out from the working principle of ceramic capacitors and electrolytic capacitors:
Ceramic capacitors are non-polar;
Electrolytic capacitors are polarized.
Five, the electrical application environment is different
Ceramic capacitors have good high-frequency characteristics and are mostly used in high-frequency circuits, and can be used in pure AC circuits.
Electrolytic capacitors have good low-frequency characteristics, so they are mostly used in low-frequency circuits, and cannot be used in pure AC power circuits.
Summarize:
The above are the five common differences between ceramic capacitors and electrolytic capacitors. They are mainly considered from the aspects of production materials, working principle, and scope. The differences are relatively easy to see.