3 ms·
As a hobbiest, I usually see them in high stability power supplies.
by Neliquat 10y ago
As a hobbiest, I usually see them in high stability power supplies.
- 2bluesc 10y agoProbably because when designed right (they are far more finicky then ceramic) they typically offer higher energy density.
- jacquesm 10y agoHigher capacity you mean (for a given volume), that and also very low leakage current so if you want to make a very efficient device then tantalum might pay off. Another reason is that electrolytic caps are usually wound aluminum sheets which act as a coil. If you don't want any parasitic inductance tantalum is better in that application (better frequency response).
- LeifCarrotson 10y agoTantalum caps have much worse leakage current than ceramics. The debate for most designs is not tantalum vs. electrolytic, it's electrolytic vs. solid vs. ceramic. And ceramic usually wins.
- marcosdumay 10y agoThey have lower internal inductance and resistance than other electrolytics. That is very goo for making the low-pass filters one uses on power supplies.
- arcticbull 10y agoThey're usually used as bulk capacitance, particularly at the input side of switching regulators. Thing is, their ESR is too high to be used alone so they're usually used in parallel with an MLCC ceramic. I've had success replacing both on the input stage with an aluminum polymer electrolytic (not standard aluminum) due to their low ESR and high capacitance (and better inrush rating). I usually use ceramics on the output. [1] http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slta055/slta055.pdf http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slta055/slta055.pdf This is a great writeup on the various types from Kemet: [2] http://www.kemet.com/Lists/TechnicalArticles/Attachments/5/Avnet2012PowerForum_CapacitorsSelection.pdf http://www.kemet.com/Lists/TechnicalArticles/Attachments/5/A...