page_title: Capacitor types
section_title: Electrolytic capacitors
hierarchical_section_title: Capacitor types / Types and styles / Electrolytic capacitors
caption_attribution_description: Aluminum electrolytic capacitors family tree
context_page_description: Capacitors are manufactured in many forms, styles, lengths, girths, and from many materials. They all contain at least two electrical conductors separated by an insulating layer. Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many common electrical devices.
  Capacitors, together with resistors, and inductors, belong to the group of "passive components" used in electronic equipment. Although, in absolute figures, the most common capacitors are integrated capacitors, this article is concentrated on the various styles of capacitors as discrete components.
  Small capacitors are used in electronic devices to couple signals between stages of amplifiers, as components of electric filters and tuned circuits, or as parts of power supply systems to smooth rectified current. Larger capacitors are used for energy storage in such applications as strobe lights, as parts of some types of electric motors, or for power factor correction in AC power distribution systems. Standard capacitors have a fixed value of capacitance, but adjustable capacitors are frequently used in tuned circuits.
context_section_description: Electrolytic capacitors have a metallic anode covered with an oxidized layer used as dielectric. The second electrode is a non-solid (wet) or solid electrolyte. Electrolytic capacitors are polarized. Three families are available, categorized according to their dielectric.
  Aluminum electrolytic capacitors with aluminum oxide as dielectric
  Tantalum electrolytic capacitors with tantalum pentoxide as dielectric
  Niobium electrolytic capacitors with niobium pentoxide as dielectric.
  The anode is highly roughened to increase the surface area. This and the relatively high permittivity of the oxide layer gives these capacitors very high capacitance per unit volume compared with film- or ceramic capacitors.
  The permittivity of tantalum pentoxide is approximately three times higher than aluminium oxide, producing significantly smaller components. However, permittivity determines only the dimensions. Electrical parameters, especially conductivity, are established by the electrolyte's material and composition. Three general types of electrolytes are used:
  non solid (wet, liquid)—conductivity approximately 10 mS/cm and are the lowest cost
  solid manganese oxide—conductivity approximately 100 mS/cm offer high quality and stability
  solid conductive polymer (Polypyrrole or PEDOT:PSS)—conductivity approximately 100...500 S/cm, offer ESR values as low as <10 mΩ
  Internal losses of electrolytic capacitors, prevailing used for decoupling and buffering applications, are determined by the kind of electrolyte.
  
  The large capacitance per unit volume of electrolytic capacitors make them valuable in relatively high-current and low-frequency electrical circuits, e.g. in power supply filters for decoupling unwanted AC components from DC power connections or as coupling capacitors in audio amplifiers, for passing or bypassing low-frequency signals and storing large amounts of energy. The relatively high capacitance value of an electrolytic capacitor combined with the very low ESR of the polymer electrolyte of polymer capacitors, especially in SMD styles, makes them a competitor to MLC chip capacitors in personal computer power supplies.
  Bipolar aluminum electrolytic capacitors (also called Non-Polarized capacitors) contain two anodized aluminium foils, behaving like two capacitors connected in series opposition.
  Electrolytic capacitors for special applications include motor start capacitors, flashlight capacitors and audio frequency capacitors.
caption: Electrolytic capacitors diversification
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