About Capacitor Arrays & Networks
Cornell Dubilier Capacitor Arrays & Networks
A capacitor array or network, is a type of electrical component that is made up of a series of capacitors connected in parallel or in series. This is done to increase the capacitance or reduce the ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance). In electronics, capacitor arrays or networks are used in several applications, such as power supply filtering, impedance matching, voltage regulator circuits and many more. An array (also known as a capacitor bank) is typically a group of 1 or more capacitors, connected as either parallel or series, in order to increase the capacitance. The type of array chosen will depend on the application, purpose and other design considerations. A parallel array will increase capacitance, while a series arrangement of capacitors will reduce the ESR. In power electronics, capacitor networks are used to manage and filter out unwanted voltage fluctuations and reduce the ripple current, by storing and releasing energy. Furthermore, capacitor arrays can also be used to reduce the size of the components and to provide higher capacitance with smaller packaging.