Ceramic Capacitor Temperature Ratings

Ceramic names temperature coefficients α α tolerances and letter codes for α.

Ceramic capacitor temperature ratings.

5 as in x5r corresponds to 85 c and 7 as in x7r corresponds to 125 c. This letter represents the tolerance of the capacitor meaning how close the actual value of the capacitor can be expected to be to the indicated value of the capacitor. A ceramic capacitor is a fixed value capacitor where the ceramic material acts as the dielectric. These capacitor characteristics can always be found in the data sheets that the capacitor manufacturer provides to us so here are just a few of the more important ones.

This tutorial explains how ceramic capacitor type designations such as x7r and y5v imply nothing about voltage coefficients. The capacitor as with any other electronic component comes defined by a series of characteristics. The theoretical range is from 45 c to 200 c. Ceramic disc capacitors have a capacitance value of 10pf to 100μf with a wide variety of voltage ratings between 16 volts to 15 kv and more.

Engineers must check the data to know really know how a specific capacitor will perform under voltage. Ceramic disc capacitors are usually through hole components and are falling out of favor due to their size. The second character indicates the maximum temperature. The third letter gives the maximum tolerance from that in ppm k.

The reality of modern small form factor ceramic capacitors is a good reminder to always read the data sheet. The first character indicates the lowest temperature that the capacitor can handle. Mlccs are used instead if capacitance values allow. Multi layer ceramic capacitor mlcc.

Nominal capacitance c the nominal value of the capacitance c of a capacitor is the most important of all capacitor.