Latest Capacitors Technical Articles

What Is a Low Pass Filter? A Tutorial on the Basics of Passive RC Filters

What is filtering? Learn what resistor-capacitor (RC) low-pass filters are and where you can use them.

May 12, 2019 by Robert Keim

How to Troubleshoot a Diode Bridge Rectifier

This article will examine different faults of a diode bridge rectifier to provide some insight into troubleshooting an AC/DC power supply.

February 01, 2019 by Dr. Steve Arar

Electrical Symbols for Electronic Components: Passive Components

This two-article series provides an overview of circuit symbols, along with some information on the components that they represent.

October 31, 2018 by Robert Keim

Understanding and Implementing Charge Amplifiers for Piezoelectric Sensor Systems

In this article we’ll explore a circuit that produces an output voltage proportional to the charge generated by a piezoelectric transducer.

October 22, 2018 by Robert Keim

Understanding and Modeling Piezoelectric Sensors

This article explains some theory behind piezoelectric sensors and presents an equivalent circuit that you can use when you’re designing sensor systems.

October 15, 2018 by Robert Keim

How to Build a Class-D Power Amp

Learn how to build your own Class D power amplifier—one of the most efficient ways to listen to music.

August 29, 2018 by Cezar Chirila

How to Choose the Frequency of Your Switching Regulator

This article discusses some details—efficiency, noise, etc.—that influence the choice of operational frequencies for switch-mode power supplies.

June 13, 2018 by Robert Keim

Build Your Own Negative Voltage Generator

Everyone needs a negative voltage rail eventually, but most only have a single rail supply. This project will show you how to build a negative voltage generator that runs off a single rail supply!

June 07, 2018 by Robin Mitchell

How to Design Schmitt Trigger Oscillators

This article discusses the good and the bad regarding Schmitt Trigger RC oscillators. These oscillators are especially important because they are present in the internal oscillator in many popular MCUs.

May 24, 2018 by Eduardo Corpeño

Designing a Charge-Pump Bipolar Power Supply

This article presents and discusses a schematic design for a ±5 V inductorless power supply.

May 16, 2018 by Robert Keim

X7R, X5R, C0G…: A Concise Guide to Ceramic Capacitor Types

This technical brief attempts to dispel some of the fog that surrounds the three-character cryptograms used to describe ceramic caps.

March 30, 2018 by Robert Keim

What Exactly Is a Quartz Crystal, Anyways? A Look at Quartz Crystal Oscillators

This article explains some theory behind an extremely common electronic component.

March 02, 2018 by Robert Keim

Power Hold-Up and Energy Storage Management Devices

In this article, we discuss power hold-up and some energy storage management devices in the context of SSDs.

November 22, 2017 by Nick Davis

An Introduction to Oscilloscope Probes

This article looks at various types of oscilloscope probes and how to use them.

June 29, 2017 by Nick Davis

Determining the Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) of Capacitors

Learn more about the importance of capacitor ESR, how to measure it, and what factors can affect your measurements.

March 31, 2017 by Amos Kingatua

Introduction to Low-Power Embedded Design

Low power consumption has become an important design goal in many electronic systems. This article introduces essential concepts and techniques.

February 17, 2017 by Robert Keim

The Importance of Complex Conjugates

This article provides insight into the importance of complex conjugates in electrical engineering.

November 17, 2016 by Sneha H.L.

Analyzing Circuits via Source Transformation

This article uses examples to explain the technique of source transformation.

November 01, 2016 by Sneha H.L.

Inductor Out, Op-Amp In: An Introduction to Second-Order Active Filters

In this article, we’ll compare active and passive filters and look at some common second-order active topologies.

May 19, 2016 by Robert Keim

Why the Capacitor in Your Power Supply Filter is Too Big

The job of the capacitor in the output filter of a DC power supply is to maintain a constant DC value by removing as much power ripple as possible. Because these capacitors have a DC value, they are actually storing a lot of energy that never gets used.

January 21, 2016 by David Williams