Ceramic capacitor

A ceramic capacitor is a fixed-value capacitor where the ceramic material acts as the dielectric. It is constructed of two or more alternating layers of ceramic and a metal layer acting as the electrodes. The composition of the ceramic material defines the electrical behavior and therefore applications. Ceramic capacitors are divided into two application classes:

• Class 1 ceramic capacitors offer high stability and low losses for resonant circuit applications.
• Class 2 ceramic capacitors offer high volumetric efficiency for buffer, by-pass, and coupling applications.

Ceramic capacitors, especially multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), are the most produced and used capacitors in electronic equipment that incorporate approximately one trillion (10¹²) pieces per year.^[1]

Ceramic capacitors of special shapes and styles are used as capacitors for RFI/EMI suppression, as feed-through capacitors and in larger dimensions as power capacitors for transmitters.