Intensive Course in Electronic Design

GND Educational Center

(www.facebook.com/AcademiaGND)

Study material for class No. 2.

Written by: Eng. Dario Maldonado.
Capacitors

Different types of capacitors

A capacitor (also often called a condenser) is a device consisting of a pair of conductive

surfaces, usually in the form of parallel plates or sheets, separated by a dielectric material or
by a vacuum.

At first, we might think that, given the way it is in the figure, the circuit does not allow
current circulation, because it is “open”. This assumption is correct if we analyze it after a
certain time (what is known as “permanent regime”).

But during the first instant in which the components are connected (what is called "transient
regime"), there is a brief flow of current from one plate to the other. In this way, the plates,
subjected to an external voltage, acquire a certain net electrical charge, and one plate ends
up with a positive charge (the plate that loses electrons) and the other, negative (the one
that gains electrons).

The capacitance (C) or capacity of a capacitor is defined precisely as the relationship

between the electric charge (Q) that it can store (that is, the quantity of electrons) per unit
of voltage (V). That is, the higher the capacitance, the greater the amount of electrical
charge the capacitor will store when a power source is connected to it.

Its unit of measurement is the Farad, and is denoted by the letter “F”. Since this unit is too
high to be achieved with small-sized capacitors, in practice it is common to find capacitors
with values that are submultiples of it: [mF] [μF] [pF].

The capacitor performs countless functions in the world of electronics, but in this course
we will try to summarize the most important ones and those that will be directly applicable
to the circuits that we will design later with Arduino.

Its ability to store electrical charge will make the capacitor often serve as a kind of “reserve
tank” of charge. This phenomenon will become clearer when we see the rectifier bridge
circuits in the following classes, where the capacitor will perform exactly that function; that
is, offer its stored charge for short periods where there is no other form of supply. For this
reason, it is common in practice to say that “the capacitor opposes sudden changes in
voltage.” We will expand on this idea as we progress through the course.

We will now begin by analyzing its behavior in direct current (DC) and alternating current
(AC).

Behavior in DC
We will begin by analyzing a circuit consisting of a resistor and a capacitor in series (series
RC circuit), connected to a voltage source V.
As we mentioned before, when connecting the circuit there will be a brief circulation of
electron current from one plate to the other. But it would be logical to assume that after a
certain time, the current in the circuit should become zero, since in essence, between the
plates of the capacitor there is a dielectric material (insulator) that does not allow the
passage of a current continuously.

In order to quantify exactly how the voltage and current vary during this period of time, it
would be necessary to solve a type of equations called “differential”, which is beyond the
scope of this course. For this reason, we will directly present the graphs (curves) of charge
and discharge of the capacitor, which arise as a result of solving the corresponding
equations.

These curves will allow us to build, for example, timer circuits, as we will see at the
end of the chapter.

RC load curve
Assuming that we have just connected the circuit in the previous figure, the capacitor will
begin to charge and its voltage value will increase as time goes by.
Specifically, in the figure above we can see the charge curve, that is, a graphic
representation of how the voltage in the capacitor varies as time passes.

Note that although the horizontal axis is expressed in “seconds”, these are shown in
multiples of a constant called “RC”, which is simply a number that arises from multiplying
the value of the resistance in Ohms, by the value of the capacitor in Farads (we will see an
example below). This constant is called the “RC time constant” and is usually represented
by the Greek letter tau “τ”. The larger this constant is, the longer the charging and
discharging processes will take.

Important values: We must note some values that will be important to us:

• As can be seen in the figure, the capacitor voltage initially starts at zero (that is, at
the first instant it acts as a short circuit).
• After a time equal to 1 RC second (once R times C seconds), the voltage value
across the capacitor has already increased and is approximately equal to 63% of the
value of the power supply that is charging it.
• After a time of approximately “5 RC seconds”, it is considered that it has already
reached 99.9% of the source voltage value (the capacitor is almost fully charged).

Example:

Clarification: (As we mentioned above, 1 Farad is an extremely large unit for a real-life capacitor
, in this example we use it to have easy-to-handle numbers)

With these values, the RC time constant (τ) will be:

RC = 10 ohm. IF = 10 [seconds]
Therefore, the delays will be worth:

- In 1 RC (i.e. 10 seconds) it reaches 63% of the source value, that is: 6.3 Volts.

- In 5 RC (i.e. 50 seconds) it was charged to almost 100%, that is: 10 Volts.

As we mentioned before, this charging curve is very important in electronics and can be
used to create timers or delays in circuits, among other things. (See application example:
“Timed lighting for buildings” at the end of this note, where the use of these curves will
be seen).
RC discharge curve.
Now, suppose we remove the power supply (assuming the capacitor is already charged to
100% of the value of the power supply), and close the circuit through the same resistor.

In this case, the charge stored in the capacitor will begin to circulate in the reverse
direction, and the capacitor will discharge.
Logically, the voltage at the capacitor terminals will decrease as time passes, therefore, the
discharge curve in this case will be decreasing:

It is worth noting, as in the previous case, certain important data:

• In a time equal to 1 RC second, the capacitor has already discharged to a value

approximately equal to 36% of its initial voltage.
• As in the charging process, in a time of 5 RC seconds, the capacitor was almost
completely discharged.

We will use these curves to create timer circuits, as we will see in the application
examples at the end of this chapter.
AC behavior
Now we will analyze the behavior of the series RC circuit against an alternating voltage
source.

As we saw on previous pages, in the case of direct current (DC), after a certain time
(approximately 5RC seconds) the current in the circuit ceased, because the capacitor had
been fully charged.

However, if the voltage source is AC, it will be changing its polarity all the time, so the
capacitor will begin to continuously alternate between charging and discharging periods
(due precisely to these polarity changes). In this way, there will always be current flowing
through the circuit (in one direction, and then in the other, remembering that electrons
oscillate around a point).

If we wanted to calculate the voltage values across each component by applying Ohm's law
as in the previous chapter, we should first know what “value in Ohms” the capacitor in the
circuit represents. For this, we must first introduce the concept of Capacitive reactance Xc:

Xe=j2itrc[ohms]
Where:

J = mathematical imaginary unit (we will not discuss its meaning in this course)

f = frequency of the alternating voltage in Hertz

C = capacitance of the capacitor in Farads.

This reactance represents the opposition to the passage of alternating current offered by the
capacitor, in a manner analogous to the concept of "resistance" studied in the first class, and
its unit of measurement is the same as in that case (Ohms). Another name is used, because
the term “resistor” is reserved for components that dissipate energy in the form of heat due
to the Joule effect, a phenomenon that does not occur in an ideal capacitor (the energy is
used to create an electric field between the plates, and not to dissipate heat).
If we analyze this mathematical expression, it is very important to notice that this
reactance value is inversely proportional to the frequency of the alternating signal (that is,
it becomes smaller and smaller as the frequency in Hertz increases). On the contrary, at
zero frequency (direct current), its value is infinitely large.

That is to say:

• For high frequency signals, capacitors have very small ohm values (practically zero
ohm or short circuit)
• For DC signals (direct current or very low frequency), its value is very high
(infinitely large).

This “dual” behavior of the capacitor is of vital importance in electronics, since it is used to
filter high frequency noise in circuits (mainly in microcontrollers), which is extremely
harmful to them and alters their behavior. But as we will see in the examples, this is
achieved without altering the value of the DC supply voltage at all. This result could NOT
be obtained if only resistors were used.

Example of behavior in AC
To clarify this somewhat “strange” behavior of the capacitor, we will show below four
examples of the same RC circuit excited by various alternating voltage signals of different
frequencies, and we will see the voltage drop that occurs in the capacitor in each case,
without making calculations, only qualitatively using the simulator.

Case 1) Source frequency: 0Hz (i.e. DC voltage source)

Voltage appearing on the capacitor: 12V

Case 2) Frequency 1000 Hz (1 KHz)

Voltage across the capacitor:

10.16V
Case 3) Frequency 10000 Hz (10 KHz)

Voltage across the capacitor:

1.862V
Case 4) Frequency 10000000 Hz (10 MHz)

– Voltage across the capacitor: 0.0018V (practically zero

volt)
As we see, as the frequency increases, the capacitor behaves more and more like a short
circuit (the voltage decreases to almost zero), because its reactance in Ohms becomes
increasingly smaller.

NOTE: In practice, the case that we will most frequently have assembled in real
life will be case number 1, with a DC source feeding some circuit. Cases 2, 3 or 4
represent what will unfortunately happen in our circuits even if we do not
physically place an alternating voltage source as such: high frequency
alternating voltages (noise) will always be induced, due to the presence of radio
waves, disturbances conducted by the 220V line, interference from nearby
machines, etc. That is why we study these cases as well, simulating the noise
induced with alternating voltage sources.

Pay attention to the last case, where for a high frequency, 10 MHz, the capacitor has a
voltage of almost 0V. This will be of vital importance to us, since in this way, anything
we connect in parallel to the capacitor will also have 0V for the alternating current
signals or high frequency noise that reach it.

We will use this high-frequency “short-circuit” operation from now on to filter out
electrical noise that may be present in any electronic circuit, and not let it “alter” the
operation of sensitive devices (such as Arduino microcontrollers). The application idea
from now on is going to be to place capacitors (called “decoupling capacitors”) on the
power pins of any device that one wants to protect from noise. Whenever the reader can
access a modern digital electronic device, he will notice that near the power pins of the
microcontrollers and the rest of the integrated circuits, he will find capacitors in parallel,
placed for this aforementioned purpose.

At the risk of redundancy, it is worth highlighting again this “dual” behavior of the
capacitor, since it behaves in two different ways, but at the same time, that is, if a DC
signal and also high frequency alternating signals (such as noise) reach the circuit, the
behavior will be as follows:

When any high frequency noise appears (it may be due to noise propagated by nearby
machines, radio waves, motors, etc.), the capacitor acts as a short circuit and does not
allow it to enter the sensitive device (Case 4 of the examples); while for direct current
the behavior is the opposite: it behaves like an open circuit and is as if it were "not"
placed, so this direct voltage can easily enter the sensitive device, without altering its
supply voltage value (Case 1 above, where the 12V does not suffer any drop).

Below are some examples of commercial equipment with decoupling capacitors near
their integrated circuits.
Summary
Having seen the DC and AC operation of the capacitor, we will summarize the three
main functions that we will give it in this course in practice:

1) We will use it very often as a kind of "reserve tank" of electric charge; that is,
whenever we need to provide current quickly for a brief moment and the power
supply cannot do so, the capacitor will provide its stored charge preventing our
circuit from being de-energized. (This phenomenon will become clearer when we
see the rectifier bridge circuits in the following classes, where the capacitor will
fulfill exactly that function). For this reason, it is common in practice to say that
“the capacitor opposes sudden changes in voltage.” As a rule, whenever we
assemble a power supply, we will put a capacitor with a high capacity value at its
output, to serve as a reserve in case of a momentary drop in the 220V network,
thus avoiding the element that is taking power from this source from being de-
energized.

2) Taking advantage of its charge and discharge curves, we will use it to create time
delays or timers (see application example below).

3) We will also use it as a high frequency noise “filter” to protect sensitive devices
such as microcontrollers. These components, if inserted in a noisy environment,
the same unwanted high frequency signal (which we symbolized in the previous
examples as alternating voltage sources) enters them and interferes with the
internal clock itself, resetting them or causing a malfunction. For this reason, we
will always place decoupling capacitors close to the power pins of the
microcontrollers.
Application examples
RC timer for building light
We will now present a timer circuit to be installed in buildings. This has the function of
turning on a lamp by pressing a button, for a certain period of time.

The component located to the left of the lamp is called the “Comparator” and will be
studied in detail in future chapters. For the moment we will say that it is responsible for
measuring the voltage coming from the capacitor, and comparing it with another fixed
voltage (in this case, 3.6V). If the capacitor voltage is above this value, the lamp turns
on, otherwise it turns off.

Let's now analyze the left part of the circuit:

Charging process: Before pressing the button, the capacitor is discharged (0V), and
therefore the lamp is off. When the push button is pressed and the circuit is closed, the
capacitor begins to charge through the 300 [ohm] resistor R1. At this point we must keep
in mind that, as we saw at the beginning of this chapter (if the reader does not
remember, go back to the first pages of this chapter), in a time approximately equal
to 5 times the RC time constant, the capacitor is already almost at 100% of the source
value, that is, almost fully charged. In this case, this time constant equals:

T = RC = 300 [ohm].0.00002[F]
t 006 [seconds]
That is, in a time approximately equal to 5 times this value (0.030 seconds), the capacitor
was almost completely charged to 10V. We need to make sure that this time is short
enough that the entire charging process happens during the average time a person holds
down such a button in real life.

Note that, at this point, the capacitor is at a value of 10V. The comparator that is
measuring its value continuously, when it sees a level greater than 3.6V, turns on the
lamp.

Discharge process: Once the capacitor is charged, and the push button is released, the
charging circuit with the source and the resistor R1 is open and no longer plays any role.
From there, the capacitor only has one path to discharge: through the resistor R2
placed in parallel, which now has a value of 1 [Megaohm]. We recalculate the RC time
constant, which will now have a value of:

T = RC= 1000000 [ohm].0.00002[F]

t = 20 [seconds]
Let us now remember that in the discharge curve (not to be confused with the charge
curve), in a time equal to one time RC, the capacitor discharges to a voltage level of
36% of its initial value. As in this case, the initial value is 10V, after a time of 20
seconds, the capacitor will have discharged to a value of 3.6V. When this point happens,
the comparator will turn off the lamp.

What we have achieved with this circuit is that once the button is pressed, a lamp turns
on and turns off automatically after 20 seconds.

It is a very simple circuit to assemble (and very cheap).