CAPACITOR FUNDAMENTALS 301

HOW TO SELECT A
CAPACITOR FOR POWER
SUPPLIES

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 Capacitor Committee
Upcoming Events

PSMA Capacitor Committee Website, Old Fundamentals Webinars, Training Presentations

and much more – https://www.psma.com/technical-forums/capacitor
Capacitor Workshop
“How to choose and define capacitor usage for various applications,
wideband trends, and new technologies” The day before APEC,
Saturday March 14 from 7:00AM to 6:00PM
Capacitor Industry Session as part of APEC
“Capacitors That Stand Up to the Mission Profiles of the Future – eMobility, Broadband”
Tuesday March 17, 8:30AM to Noon in New Orleans

Capacitor Roadmap Webinar – Timing TBD – Latest in Research and Technology

Additional info here.

 Short Introduction of Today‘s Presenter

Eduardo Drehmer
Director of Marketing
FILM Capacitors

Background:
• Over 20 years experience with knowledge on
+1 732 319 1831 Manufacturing, Quality and Application of
Electronic Components.
[email protected] • Responsible for Technical Marketing for Film
Capacitors
www.tdk.com

2018-09-25 StM
 Short Introduction of Today‘s Presenter

Edward Lobo was born in Acushnet, MA in

1943 and graduated from the University
of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1967 with
a BS in Chemistry. Ed worked for
Magnetek, Aerovox and CDE where he is
currently Chief Engineer for New Product
Development.
Ed Lobo
Ed has served for over 52 years in Chief Engineer, New Product
capacitor product development. He holds [email protected]
14 US patents involving capacitors.

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 ABSTRACT

This presentation will guide individuals selecting components for

their Electronic Power Supplies. Capacitors come in a wide variety of
technologies, and each offers specific benefits that should be
considered when designing a Power Supply circuit.

The presenters will cover critical parameters that should be

considered when selecting capacitors and comparing advantages
and disadvantages of the various types of capacitors available in the
market.
 BASIC CONCEPTS / SYMBOLS

Basic
Concept Non-Polarized Polarized Variable

Symbols
 MOST COMMON CAPACITOR TECHNOLOGIES

Ceramic
(MLCC)

Film
(Metalized
Film)

Aluminum
(Electrolytic)
OTHER CAPACITOR TECHNOLOGIES

Tantalum Supercapacitors
TECHNOLOGIES OVERVIEW
 TECHNOLOGY COMPARISON

max. possible max. permissible max. operating

capacitor type voltage range Applications
capacitance current temperature
Aluminum smoothing,
Electrolytic > 1F ca. 650 V ca. 0,05 A/µF 85°C up to 150°C buffering,
Capacitor DC Link
DC Link,
Film
> 8mF ca. 3kV ca. 3 A/µF 70°C up to 125°C EMI suppresion,
Capacitors
filtering
EMI
suppression,
MLCC‘s > 100 µF ca. 10 kV ca. 10 A/µF 85°C up to 200°C
buffering,
coupling
TECHNOLOGY COMPARISON
 TERMINATIONS / ASSEMBLY TYPE

Surface Mount • Smaller Components

• Lower Power

Normally using reflow soldering process.

(~260°C peak body temperature)
 TERMINATIONS / ASSEMBLY TYPE

PCB Mount / Through Hole • Different Shapes/Sizes

• Medium Power

Normally using wave or selective soldering process.

(~120°C peak body temperature)
 TERMINATIONS / ASSEMBLY TYPE

BusBar / Screw Types • Large Volume

• High Power

No soldering needed.
Mechanical assembly parameters are critical.
 CAPACITOR CHARACTERISTICS
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF EACH CAPACITOR

the equivalent circuit diagram is described like following:

beside the capacitance you

have 3 major parameters:

ESR – Equivalent Series Resistance

ESL – Equivalent Series Inductance

RISO / RLeak – Isolation Resistance

 Capacitor Characteristics
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT: ESR - EQUIVALENT SERIES RESISTANCE

the equivalent circuit diagram is described like following:

ESR – Equivalent Series Resistance

• Reason for self heating in case of Ripple or AC load

• Values are typically specified @ 120Hz or 100kHz with 20°C ambient condition

• Can be calculated like following:

tan δ 1 1
ESR   tan δ ∗ X mit X  
2∗π∗f∗C 2∗π∗f∗C ω∗C
 Capacitor Characteristics
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT: ESL - EQUIVALENT SERIES INDUCTANCE

the equivalent circuit diagram is described like following:

ESL – Equivalent Series Inductance

• Is mainly driven by inner construction of capacitor element and connections to it

• New cap designs are optimized for low ESL to drop these parasitic effects

• Can be calculated as following:

X
  ⇒ X  2 ∗ π ∗ f ∗ ESL  ω ∗ ESL
2∗π∗f
 Capacitor Characteristics
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT: RISO / RLEAK - ISOLATION RESISTANCE

the equivalent circuit diagram is described like following:

Riso / Rleak – Isolation Resistance

• Is the ohmic resistance between the electrodes

• Will be given as [MΩ] or as τ [s]
•     !Ω ∗ µ$   !Ω ∗ %&µ$'
• Humidity can reduce the isolation resistance drastically
 Capacitor Characteristics
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT: Z - IMPEDANCE

the equivalent circuit diagram is described like following:

Z – Impedance Z

• Describes the AC mode characteristics

• Is based on 3 parameter - ESR, XL and XC

• Can be calculated as following:

Z ESR) * +X ,X -)

 TEMPERATURE RATINGS
Ceramic Capacitor Temperature Classes:

Ceramic caps might show significant variations in their characteristics due to Amb Temp.
 TEMPERATURE RATINGS

Aluminum Electrolythic Metalized Film

Typical Curves Typical Curves

ALU caps might FILM caps are very

change significantly sensitive to high
their life expectation temperatures.
by temperature.
TEMPERATURE RATINGS

Amb + Self
Heating!

Temperature used
for other ratings
listed
TEMPERATURE RATINGS

Thermal Analyses can be very useful!!

 TEMPERATURE RATINGS

Case Temperature:
(Amb + Self Heat @ Max Load)

Search for your component Hot Spot

 COMMON FAILURE MECHANISMS

• Over Temperature

• Over Current

• Over Voltage

• Humidity

• Mechanical Stress
LIFE EXPECTANCY CALCULATIONS

Check with your supplier for these details.

Have a clear mission profile of your
application.
 WHAT IS AN INVERTER

• Direct Current DC is converted to Alternating Current AC

• Solar
• DC from solar panels
• UPS
• DC from batteries
• AC converted to DC then back to AC
• Wind turbine
• Variable Frequency Drive (VFD)
• Motor control
• Induction heating
• HVDC power transmission

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 CAPACITORS FOR INVERTERS

High capacitance and High ripple current Board-mount or Oil filled types
very high ripple screw terminals and direct-mount styles contain an
current capability snap-in capacitors for maximum environmentally
needed for today’s for critical power protection. friendly fluid and
inverter designs for electronics their built-in safety
wind, solar, fuel cells, applications. pressure interrupter
UPS systems, medical ensures open circuit
power and more. failure mode at end
of life. Use axial type
ACF for the same
high-performance
filtering where dry
construction is
preferred.
………………………
PRODUCTS FOR THE INVERTER
DC Link Capacitors:
Used for bulk storage and ripple
filtering
Aluminum
Electrolytic

OR

Power Film

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 SOLAR INVERTER
L/C OUTPUT
DC TO DC DC TO AC HARMONIC
DC Vin INPUT FILTER DC LINK
BOOST CONVERSION FILTER

- LOAD

DC AC
CHARGE

BATTERIES / SUPERCAPS

CONTROL CIRCUIT

SCREW TERMINAL, POWER FILM, & PLUG IN SNUBBER

SCREW TERMINAL, POWER FILM, & PLUG IN SF, PC, PFCH, & ACF

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 WIND TURBINE INVERTERS
L/C OUTPUT
AC TO DC DC TO AC HARMONIC
AC IN INPUT FILTER DC LINK
CONVERSION CONVERSION
∿ FILTER

LOAD

AC AC

CHARGE

BATTERIES / SUPERCAPS

CONTROL CIRCUIT

AC SF, PC, PFCH, & ACF DC SNUBBER

DC SCREW TERMINAL, POWER FILM, & PLUG IN AC SF, PC, PFCH, & ACF

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UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY -
UPS AC TO DC DC TO AC
L/C OUTPUT
HARMONIC
INPUT FILTER DC LINK
RECTIFIER CONVERSION FILTER
LINE
LOAD

AC AC

CHARGE

BATTERIES / SUPERCAPS

CONTROL CIRCUIT

SF, PC, PFCH, & ACF SNUBBER

SCREW TERMINAL, POWER FILM, & PLUG IN

SF, PC, PFCH, & ACF

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 DC LINK CAPACITORS
DC LINK CAPACITORS: Film Versus Aluminum
CHARACTERISTIC ALUMINUM FILM
Capacitance High (3X Film) Medium
ESR 30 mΩ Typical 2.0 mΩ Typical
Operating Temp Rating
(with full ripple) 105°C Max 85°C Max

Ripple Current
(1000 µF, 500 Vdc) @ 85C 6.3 A 3X-4X aluminum

Up to 1500 Vdc.
Eliminates the need for
capacitors in series and
Voltage 550 Vdc balancing resistors.

Resistance to Overvoltage 50 V surge 1.5 X rated for 10 s

Failure Mode rupture fail open mode

Construction Liquid Electrolyte Dry, no liquid electrolyte

Polarity Must observe polarity Non-Polar

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INVERTER DC LINK APPLICATION
• 60 Hz AC is rectified to “lumpy” DC (120 Hz)
• A smoothing - DC Link capacitor is placed between the
rectifier and the inverter switch to smooth the voltage
• DC Link decouples the input from the output
• DC Link must also handle high frequency ripple
resulting from inverter switching

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ALUMINUM ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS
More Capacitance for the Buck

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ALUMINUM ELECTROLYTIC ADVANTAGE

• The high value capacitor choice

• Typically last more than 10 years
• Lower cost dielectric for high capacitance and energy
storage
• 4 to 10 times the capacitance per dollar of film capacitors
• Great for power electronics bus capacitors up to 550 Vdc

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POWER FILM: DC LINK CAPACITORS
More Ripple Current for the Buck

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 POWER DC FILM ADVANTAGE

• The high ripple current capacitor choice

• Higher voltage than aluminum electrolytics - up to 1500 Vdc
• No need to place capacitors in series
• Eliminates need for balancing resistors
• Dry construction – no electrolyte
• Non-Polar
• Self healing – open circuit failure mode

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 IGBT SNUBBERS

Discrete Axial Leaded Radial Leaded Box Direct Mount

Snubbers Snubbers Snubbers

High dV/dt – 940C, 941C PPA, PPS High dV/dt: PSB Capacitor Type: SCD, PMB, PMC
Very High dV/dt: 942C, 943C Clamp Type w diode: SCM
Dual Clamp Type: SCC

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 WHAT’S AN IGBT
• IGBT – Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
• Power switch of choice for most inverter applications

Discrete IGBT IGBT Module

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 WHAT’S AN IGBT SNUBBER
The word snub means to rebuff, spurn, repulse, give
someone the cold shoulder, shortened at the end.

IGBT Snubber: A device used to protect IGBT switches from

overvoltage during turnoff.

During turn off, a voltage transient appears across the IGBT

that may exceed its voltage rating. The voltage transient is
proportional to the amount of stray inductance (L) and the
rate in change in current with time.
V = -Ldi/dt
transient

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 WHAT’S AN IGBT SNUBBER

IGBT snubbers are designed to protect IGBTs by reducing

the voltage spike across the IGBT during turn-off.
A conservative rule of thumb is to use 1µF of capacitance
for every 100A of IGBT.

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AC Film Capacitors

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WHY IS HARMONIC FILTERING NECESSARY

• Clean power required for

electrical equipment to
function properly
• Inverter switching schemes
cause harmonic distortion of
the input / output power
• Filters required to “clean”
the power

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HARMONIC DISTORTION CAUSED BY
INVERTER SWITCHING

Inverter IGBT switching result in harmonics that are odd numbered

multiples of the fundamental switching frequency (3rd, 5th, 7th, etc.).
These harmonics combine with the fundamental frequency and cause
distortion of the waveform.

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 HOW DO AC OUTPUT FILTERS WORK
Block diagram of the DC link and filter components

Grid tie inverters require filter components in two key areas:

The DC bus and AC output.
The AC output filter is a low pass filter (LPF) that blocks high frequency PWM
currents generated by the inverter. Three phase inductors and capacitors form
the low pass filters. Resonant filters are specifically designed (inductance and
capacitance) to “tune” out the harmonic frequencies.

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 EXAMPLE OF CUSTOMER SUPPLIED
WAVEFORM AND FFT
• Voltage waveform
• Harmonic content can increase peak voltages
• Peak voltages are typically higher than the
fundamental voltage
• Dielectric thickness determined by peak
TYPICAL VOLTAGE ACROSS CAPACITOR WHEN
USED ON 480 V SYSTEMS voltage including harmonics
• FFT Harmonic current distribution
• Fast Fourier Transform
• Each harmonic current contributes to capacitor
heating
• Required to calculate power losses
• Harmonic frequencies can develop higher
HARMONIC CURRENT DISTRIBUTION FOR 60 HZ currents than fundamental frequency
This information required for capacitor design

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Thank you

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