Tantalum vs ceramic capacitor: a PCB engineer’s guide to key differences in ESR, DC bias, aging, failure modes, cost, and when to use each in your design. When you’re laying out a new PCB and you hit that familiar decision point 鈥� tantalum or ceramic? 鈥� the wrong choice can cost you in rework, reliability […]
Read articleSupercapacitor vs battery: a PCB engineer’s guide comparing energy density, power density, cycle life, cost, safety, and when to use each technology in your design. If you’ve spent any time designing power systems 鈥� whether it’s a PCB for an IoT node, an EV powertrain, or an industrial UPS 鈥� you’ve probably wrestled with the […]
Read articleLearn how to design a snubber capacitor for MOSFET and IGBT switching circuits. Covers RC, RCD, and C-snubber topologies, step-by-step capacitance and resistance calculations, component selection tips, PCB layout rules, and a full FAQ 鈥� written for power electronics engineers. If you’ve ever watched a voltage spike kill a perfectly good MOSFET mid-prototype, you already […]
Read articleSMD capacitor vs through-hole: a PCB engineer’s guide to size, performance, cost, assembly, and when each mounting technology belongs in your design. Every PCB engineer has faced that layout moment: the BOM calls for a capacitor and you’re deciding whether to stick with a traditional through-hole part or go full surface mount. The answer isn’t […]
Read articleMaster RC filter capacitor design for low-pass, high-pass, and band-pass circuits 鈥� with cutoff frequency formulas, worked examples, dielectric selection tables, and PCB layout tips. If you’ve ever chased down an audio hum caused by power supply noise, debugged an ADC that produced jittery readings, or watched an oscilloscope trace explode with high-frequency garbage on […]
Read articlePower supply capacitor guide: how to size reservoir and filter caps, calculate ripple voltage, choose ESR, and avoid the mistakes that cause field failures. Ask any power electronics engineer what kills most power supply designs in the field and the answer rarely surprises: wrong capacitor selection, poor placement, or both. The power supply capacitor is one […]
Read articlePolypropylene vs polyester capacitor: a PCB engineer’s guide comparing dissipation factor, temperature stability, dielectric absorption, and the right application for each. Walk into any PCB design review and bring up the topic of polypropylene vs polyester capacitor selection鈥攜ou’ll quickly find out it’s one of those deceptively simple choices that actually has a lot riding on it. […]
Read articleEvery PCB engineer has been there 鈥� staring at a schematic, a bag of loose capacitors on the bench, and a board that just popped when power came on. Nine times out of ten, a reversed polarized capacitor is involved. Understanding the difference between a polarized capacitor and its non-polarized counterpart is one of those fundamentals […]
Read articleLearn the key differences between a motor start capacitor and a motor run capacitor 鈥� including specs, sizing formulas, replacement rules, testing methods, and failure symptoms 鈥� with comparison tables and a full FAQ. If you’ve ever replaced a capacitor on an HVAC compressor, a pool pump motor, or an industrial fan 鈥� and stared […]
Read articleThe MLCC DC bias聽effect can shrink your 10碌F cap to 2碌F in circuit. Learn why it happens, which dielectrics suffer most, and how to select and derate correctly. You pulled up the BOM, confirmed 10碌F on the decoupling cap, soldered the board, powered it up 鈥� and then spent two days debugging a switching regulator […]
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