Welcome to the Capacitor Fundamentals Series, where we teach you about the ins and outs of chips capacitors – their nature and properties, dielectric behavior, product classifications, test and quality standards, and common use cases – in order to help you make informed decisions about the right capacitors for your specific applications. Part 1 discusses the key principles of capacitance and how a basic capacitor works.

The advantages of multilayer ceramic (MLC) capacitors over plastic film types include their smaller physical size, lower inductance, and ability to operate at higher temperatures. These advantages make MLC capacitors very well suited to high power applications, such as power converter systems in electric (EV) and hybrid electric (HEV) vehicles.

Multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are a highly efficient, robust, and mature product that are enabling rapid innovation across a myriad of industries and expanding numbers of applications. However, with global demand for these critical components at an all-time high, at the moment there is a global shortage in their supply – especially in the traditional, non-specialized geometries. As MLCC demand is fueled by significant product development in the IoT, consumer electronics, and electric vehicles (EV), new advancements in these industries have become limited to the capacitor’s availability during the shortage, with lead times reaching several months to a year in some cases.

The worldwide electric vehicle (EV) market is exploding in demand and mainstream adoption as governments push for fuel economy improvements and automotive companies look for new market opportunities. According to Forbes, “by 2020, EVs are likely to cost the same as conventional fuel powered equivalents.” Major manufacturers – like General Motors, Toyota, and BMW – plan to release “a mouthwatering potential of 400 models and estimated global sales of 25 million by 2025.” For EV design engineers and purchasing agents, this drive towards increased electrification results in the challenge of finding cutting-edge components that can handle increasing temperatures, voltage, and power without sacrificing reliability, availability, and footprint.