Design Considerations for High-Frequency Ceramic Chip Capacitors

The design of multilayer ceramic chip capacitors is generally very straightforward and simple. This design normally yields the Iow-frequency parameters such as capacitance, dissipation factor, and insulation resistance. As the frequency increases, however, the loss caused by the resistance of the electrodes can become significant, and the inductance of the electrodes can impair the effectiveness of the capacitors. In this paper the frequency dependence of the dissipation factor is developed for both conventional chip Capacitors and discoidal capacitors. Equivalent series inductance is also developed and generalizations made about it. Finally, some conclusions are arrived at concerning optimum or better designs for high-frequency use.