Generic Ceramic Disc Capacitors
Ceramic disc capacitors (aka ceramic disk capacitors, or simply ceramic capacitors) are electronic components found in many different consumer and industrial devices. They have a wide variety of uses, from providing basic filtering, to forming part of digital circuits. They are very small, and are often used in small applications where space is at a premium. The basic construction of ceramic capacitors is two ceramic discs (made of a dielectric material, such as a mixture of barium titanate, lead zirconate titanate and aluminum titanium oxide) which are separated by a thin dielectric layer. On one side of the discs, electrodes are attached. The electrical characteristics of the capacitor are determined by the size and shape of the discs, and by the thickness and composition of the dielectric material, among other factors. Ceramic disc capacitors have good temperature stability and low power losses, making them suitable for use in many different applications. They can store electric energy, filter noise, suppress spikes, and act as timing elements.