Capacitors come in many varieties that serve different purposes. Let’s review some of the more common capacitors.
1. Polyester Film Capacitor. These have a low tolerance of 5 to 10 percent and cost very low to manufacture. The low tolerance makes it sufficient for use in a good number of applications. They come in leaded format.
2. Ceramic Capacitor. Ceramic capacitors are applied in a lot of applications like RF and audio. The value that this capacitor holds ranges from a couple of picofarads to .1 microfarads. It is the most popularly used capacitor because it is inexpensive and dependable with a relatively small loss value. It is a type of capacitor that comes in surface mount and leaded applications.
3. Electrolytic Capacitor. It is a polarized kind of capacitor. The capacitance values that it offers are on the higher end of the scale. Electrolytic capacitors are used mainly for applications that have low frequencies. These applications include decoupling, audio decoupling and power supplies. The reason for this is it has a frequency cap of 100 kHz.
4. Tantalum Capacitor. Tantalum capacitors are another polarized type. It has a high capacitance value but, unfortunately, cannot handle reverse biased applications. Tantalum capacitors come in surface mount and leaded forms.
5. Silver Mica Capacitor. Silver Mica Capacitors have seen their glory days and are not as common as they used to be. Some people still prefer to use them as they offer high tolerance when it comes to stabilization, capability of high-level accuracy, and small loss.
6. Polystyrene Capacitor. It is inexpensive. Polystyrene Capacitors offer great insulation and low distortion, making them a favorite of audio-based manufactured products.