Information

22
1 Basic Principles
1.8 Capacitor
by an insulating material, the dielectric. The principle construction of a capacitor is
illustrated as follows:
Fig. 1.6: Principle construction of a capacitor
The most commonly used arrangement as a technology is the plate capacitor. The
principle structure of a plate capacitor consists of two metal plates or foils and a
dielectric in the space between them. A plate capacitor and its essential parameters
are presented in the following Figure 1.7:
Fig. 1.7: Principle representation of a plate capacitor
The capacitance C of a capacitor describes its capacity to store electric charges
(capacitance is described in more detail in Chapter 2.1 Capacitance of a capacitor ).
In the case of a plate capacitor, as represented above, its capacitance C can be
de termined with the following equation:
C = ε * = ε
0
* ε
r
*
A
d
A
d
(1.11)
Plate capacitor
Capacitance C