Ceramic Capacitors

A capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores electric charge. Ceramic capacitors consist of multiple alternating layers of ceramic material serving as the dielectric, with metal layers acting as non-polarized electrodes. Common applications include automotive electronics, bypassing, decoupling, filtering, RF circuits, and ESD protection. Through-hole ceramic capacitors are often disc- or “blob”-shaped with two wire leads, while Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCCs) are surface-mounted devices.

Ceramic material was one of the earliest dielectrics used in capacitors due to its excellent insulating properties. Various ceramic capacitor geometries have been developed over time, but some, such as ceramic tubular and barrier layer capacitors, are now obsolete because of size constraints, parasitic effects, or inferior electrical performance. Today, the most widely used types are MLCCs (multilayer ceramic chip capacitors) and ceramic disc capacitors. MLCCs dominate production, with roughly 1 trillion units manufactured annually, largely due to their compact size and surface-mount technology (SMT) compatibility.

Ceramic capacitors typically have small capacitance values ranging from 1 nF to 1 µF, although values up to 100 µF are available. They are small in size, have relatively low maximum voltage ratings, and are non-polarized, allowing safe connection to AC sources. Thanks to their low parasitic resistance and inductance, ceramic capacitors offer excellent frequency response, making them ideal for high-frequency applications.