CAPACITOR

• A Capacitor is defined as two conductors (or sets of interconnected

conductors) separated by air or dielectric materials.
• The conductors may be plates, foil, solid shapes, or even wires.
• The separator can be air, vacuum, solids, an oxide layer on metal (as
in electrolytic capacitors), flat thin paper or film, placed or wound on
the conductors.
• A pair of cables near each other will have a capacitance, however
small.
• A capacitor is also formed on two sides of a PCB by coating metal on
opposite sides of a given area.
• Capacitor is a device that stores energy; energy thus stored can
either be associated with accumulated charge.
 CAPACITANCE
• Capacitance measures the capability of energy storage in electrical
devices.
• Capacitance is defined as the ratio of the magnitude of the charge
on one of the plates to the potential difference between them; that
is,
𝑄
𝐶= , 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑(F)
𝑉

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒: 1 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝐹 = 1 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏/𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡

Energy Stored in a Capacitor

How Energy Stored in a Capacitor?
How Energy Stored in a Capacitor?
 ELECTRIC FIELD
• All charged objects create an electric field that extends outward
into the space that surrounds it.
• The charge alters that space, causing any other charged object
that enters the space to be affected by this field.
• The strength of the electric field is dependent upon how charged
the object creating the field is and upon the distance of
separation from the charged objects.
 DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
• The insulating material between the plates of a capacitor is called the
dielectric. Dielectric materials tend to reduce the voltage between
plates for a given charge and thus increase the capacitance.
• Dielectric materials become polarized in an electric field, with the
result that the electric flux density D is greater than it would be under
free-space conditions with the same field intensity.
• Upon application of an electric field E, the positive charge region
moves in the direction of the applied field and the negative charge
region moves in the opposite direction.
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
• Polarization – the process of creating or inducing dipoles in a dielectric
medium by an external field

• Polarizability – the ability of dielectric to form instantaneous dipoles. It is a

property of matter.

• Permittivity – is the measure of resistance that is encountered when forming

an electric field in a medium. In other words, permittivity is a measure of how
an electric field affects, and is affected by, a dielectric medium
𝜺 = 𝜺𝒓𝜺𝟎
• Dielectric Constant or Relative Permittivity(𝜺𝒓 )– gives a measure of the
polarizability of a material relative to free-space and is defined as the ratio
between the permittivity of the medium to the permittivity of free space.
Source: Sadiku, Elements of Electromagnetics
Parallel-Plate Capacitor
If the space between the plates is filled with a homogeneous dielectric with
permittivity 𝜀 and we ignore flux fringing at the edges of the plates,

Where: C = capacitance 𝜀 = permittivity

Q = charge on one of the plates S = area
V =potential difference between plates d = distance between plates
𝜀0 = permittivity of free space 𝜀𝑟 = relative permittivity
 𝜀𝑜 𝑆
𝐶=
𝑑

Example:

Calculate the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor having a mica dielectric,

𝜀𝑟 = 6, a plate area of 10 square inch, and a separation of 0.01 in.
Example:

Determine the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor having a plate area of

0.01 m2 and a plate separation of 1.27 x 10-5 m . The dielectric is mica, which has
a dielectric constant(𝜀𝑟 ) of 5.0.

Solution:

𝜀𝑟 𝜀𝑜 𝑆
𝐶=
𝑑

𝐹
(5)(8.85 𝑥 10−12 𝑚)(0.01 𝑚2 )
𝐶=
1.27 𝑥10−5 𝑚

= 0.035 μF
Coaxial Capacitor
Example:
A Cylindrical capacitor, which is having a length of 8 cm is made of two
concentric rings including an inner radius of 3 cm and the outer radius
of 6 cm. Then, find the capacitance of the capacitor?

Solution:
Spherical Capacitor
Example:

Conducting spherical shells with radii a = 10 cm and b = 30 cm are maintained at a

potential difference of 100 V such that V(r=b)= 0V and V(r=a)=100V. If 𝜀𝑟 = 2.5 in the
region, determine the capacitance of the capacitor.

Solution:

10−9
4𝜋( 36𝜋 )(2.5)
𝐶=
1 1
−
0.1 0.3

0.2778 𝑥 10−9
=
6.6667

= 41.67 𝑝𝐹
Two Capacitors in Series

Capacitors of Equal Value in Series