Various Types of Decoupling Capacitors

[Barley_Li]

There are various types of capacitors suitable for decoupling, but each differ by electrical performance, polarity and cost. The following are some common capacitor tips which may help you to select the right type of decoupling in your application.

Capacitor Types	Advantages	Disadvantages	Application Examples
Ceramic Capacitor	Lower ESR and ESL	Capacitance range is limited	Good at high frequency applications
	Cost effective solution	Capacitance decreases related to the voltage and temperaure coefficient
Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor	High capacitance	Degrade over time and temperaturewearout	Consumer Products, Large bulk storage
	Low cost	High ESR and Large Size
Aluminum Polymer Capacitor	Very Low ESR	Rapid degradation aboce 105⁰C	CPU core regulators
	Relatively small case	Relatively high cost
Tantalum Capacitor	Low ESR and ESL	Fire hazard in reverse voltage	Popular in military
	Very stable over time	Limited rated voltage of 50V

Here’s a few related articles that can help you better understand to select and apply decoupling capacitor:
Kemet article: Don’t Choose the Wrong Decoupling Capacitor

Selecting the proper Decoupling Capacitor

A Decoupling Capacitor is a capacitor that suppresses the frequency noise (AC signal) in power supply signals. All decoupling capacitors should be placed as close as possible to each power supply pin. Knowing this, how do you select the proper decoupling capacitor for your design? In general, there are some tips for your selection of decoupling capacitor. Low frequency noise decoupling generally requires electrolytic capacitors (typically 1 μF to 100 μF) that act as charge reservoirs to low …

[roger_roisen]

I’m looking for the best AC coupling capacitors suitable for 70GHz high speed clock inputs.