Film Capacitors

A film capacitor, or plastic film capacitor, is a type of capacitor that uses a thin plastic film as the dielectric. It is also sometimes referred to as a polymer film capacitor, polyester capacitor, or Mylar capacitor, after the DuPont brand name of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used to make the film. They are often used in high frequency circuitry, since the dielectric absorbs very little energy at high frequency, so they are well-suited for radio frequency circuits and applications like sensing and signal conditioning, coupling and decoupling, etc. Film capacitors also offer very low resistance, low inductance, and low ESR in comparison to other capacitor types, such as electrolytic.

BFC237026563 application field and working principle

The BFC237026563 is a film capacitor manufactured by WIMA. It is a low-inductance (L) type capacitor with a capacity of 470 pF and a quality factor Q = 18. The component size is 6.3 mm x 6 mm x 2.5 mm. It is used in high frequency applications such as signal conditioning, sensing, coupling and decoupling, etc. Its operating temperature is -55°C to +125°C.

The working principle of the BFC237026563 is based on a combination of the distributed capacitance of the dielectric layer between the two electrodes. The capacitor consists of a film of dielectric material (normally polycarbonate or polyester) sandwiched between two electrodes. When a voltage is applied to the device, an electric field is created between the two electrodes and the dielectric material acts as an insulator, or dielectric, preventing the current from flowing. The electric field induces a charge separation in the dielectric material due to the displacement of bound electrons in the atoms of the dielectric material, and this charge separation is what stores the energy in the capacitor.

The main advantages of film capacitors are their low ESR, low inductance, low leakage current, low temperature sensitivity, excellent high frequency performance, and high stability and reliability. All these characteristics make the BFC237026563 ideal for high frequency applications.