Capacitors

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation
Vol. 25 No. 5 , October 1000
861
REVIEW
Capacitors
W. J. Sarjeant
Department of Electrical Engineering, State University of New York, Buffalo
ABSTRACT
This review of capacitor fundamentals and technology is directed towards the clarification of the modes of operation of the broad spectrum of capacitors - including paper/polymeric films, electrolytics, and ceramics. How each class of capacitor performs in both low and high power electronics will be discussed in detail, with emphasis upon delineating those factors impacting life, reliability, maintainability and environmental compatibility of systems in which the capacitor is a required element. Diagnostic measurement techniques for quality assessment, non-invasive life determination, and system continuity of performance under component aging are analyzed and compared. Particular emphasis is given to the influence of the mode of operation of the capacitor upon life and reliability, including energy discharge, low and high frequency filtering in ac and dc systems, ac resonant inverter, and switch-mode power supply use, along with transient pulse filtering applications. Practical factors a s delineated by manufacturers in the field are discussed in depth.
INTRODUCTION
allow electrical energy t o be stored over a long charging time and then released as required 1 s), under conover far shorter periods (< 1ps to trolled conditions [l]. In contrast to dc filter capacitors, pulse-discharge energy-storage capacitors must provide large peak currents, often of a n oscillatory nature, during brief energy release or discharge times. These large currents, particularly at kHz pulse repetition rates, can lead to significant internal power losses inside the capacitor, necessitating considerable care in design to achieve adequate heat-transfer for long capacitor lifetime [2-61.
The new Lexicon Websters Dictionary (1987) defines

a capacitor as a: A device which gives capacitance, usu-
APACITORS
ally consisting of conducting plates or foils separated by layers of dielectric. A potential difference applied across the plates induces a separation of charge centers in the dielectric, thus storing electrical energy. An illustration of the elements essential to such a capacitor is shown in Figure 1. It is a n experimental fact that closing SI with S2 open will place equal and opposite charges of magnitude Q on the upper and lower plates [l, 61.
This review paper explores capacitor technology and delineates engineering considerations required to achieve user-specified lifetimes for the major classes of operation. An overview of manufacturing techniques and their impact upon capacitor performance is presented and correlated with the known physical and chemical mechanisms responsible for observed capacitor electrical properties and lifetime [2-771.
A capacitor consists of two such conducting plates that are separated by uniform insulating media of high quality, permitting the media t o store electrical energy a t field stress levels approaching the ultimate voltage withstand value of the material(s). The static capacitance is related to the applied voltage as
G = Q/V
In this case, the quantity of charge Q stored on the positively charged metallic plate of the capacitor (and cor-
0018-9367/90/1000-861$1.00 @ 1990 IEEE
862
Sarjean t : Capacitors
respondingly -& on the negatively charged plate of the capacitor) when divided by the total voltage difference ( V ) across the plates gives the capacitance in (F) of the capacitor. Note that geometrically
C = &A/d
(2)
wherein the area of the plates is A, the thickness of the insulation d , and the permittivity E [l]. The insulating media between the capacitor plates depend upon the type of capacitor under consideration and may be either gas, air, organic films (e.g., polypropylene, Mylarm, polysulfone) or inorganic films (e.g., mica, ceramic, oxides). The specific performance properties of the insulating medium/media will dominate all performance parameters of the capacitor, with the possible exception of peak current limits in very high power applications. In that case the electrical conductivity of the capacitor plates and connections contributes to attainable peak current limits, as well as energy lost per pulse discharge cycle [2-61. It is very important to note that some insulating media have permittivities that are a function of the applied voltage V causing (mainly for some types of ceramic capacitors) a nonlinear dependence of the capacitance upon applied voltage [6]. This nonlinear dependence can increase internal power dissipation inside the capacitor as well as enhance electromechanical stress from repeated charging and discharging cycles [6]. In terms of units, a capacitor has a capacitance of 1 F when the addition of 1 C of charge results in an increase in the potential difference across the plates by 1 V. Furthermore, the electrostatic energy stored in a linear media capacitor, in J , is given by [l]:
For the very high dc resistance insulating materials being considered here, the intensity of this force is equal to the rate at which the stored energy is changing inside the capacitor, in the direction from one metallic electrode towards the other [l]. Discharging this capacitor causes the resultant mechanical force in the insulating media to be opposite in sign to the direction in which the current is flowing through the media. This action indicates that the insulating media are being compressed and pulled away from the metallic electrodes (see Figure 1). In fact, these disruptive forces can be large enough to cause rupture damage inside the capacitor and destroy the intimate bond required between the insulating media and rigid metallic electrodes [I, 21. Impurity effects must be considered for both charge and discharge cycles, as well as the effects that isolated packets of charge a t the edges of capacitors have on lifetime, for both dc and very short pulses to bring the capacitor potential to vdc. This potential is used throughout to designate the voltage across the capacitor at the completion of any type of charging cycle, or the operating voltage, for dc filter applications. Any differences these charging cycle conditions might make, either to capacitor lifetime or restrictions on modes of operation in the discharge loop, are explained [2-81. The other main intent in this paper is to present to the reader those advances that have been made in the various classes of capacitor technology. For the main part, large energy storage capacitors have seen the most aggressive advances in operational capabilities over the last decade, followed by electrolytics and single and multi-layer ceramics. Considerable practical emphasis is thus placed upon the scaling relations for each of these technologies, as well as the reliabilities as a function of r e p r a t e and voltage reversal - major issues in frequently load-faulted systems.
Table 1. Parameters influencing the capacitor designers design approach.
USER BEcTR(cAL REQURDADCTS
Capacilance Voltage Rating Tolerance MAMFACTLRER
D E m PARMmR
U = -cv2
1 2
(3)
This energy is stored in the insulating media between the capacitor plates and is released into the load when the discharging switch in Figure 1 is closed. It is important to note that the discharge of this stored energy gives rise to mechanical forces inside the capacitor, which can cause material degradation (e.g., fracturing) [ 6 ] . In repetitive operation, the energy discharge can excite mechanical resonances in the capacitor structure, eventually resulting in destructive damage and electrical breakdown. During discharge of this stored energy, there is a mechanical force that the insulating medium exerts upon the mechanical conductors and container in which the capacitor is housed [2-61.
u8ERENvlRoNMprr
E;:;ature range
Capacitance variation D1nlpalion factor Insulatlon rnistanci Tamperatura c o dI lcient 01 capacitance
Humidity Frequency Ware ahape Duty cycle Life expectancy Storage temperature Allltude
Dimenrional tolerance Terminal locrtlon Termlnal dlmmsions Mounting means Care materials
Vol. 25 No. 5, October 1990
863
GENERAL PROPERTIES OF CA PACIT O RS

HENEVER a capacitor is selected to perform in an electronic circuit, its characteristics have been optimized to provide the designer with a well-defined level of reliability of the component throughout the design lifetime of the circuit [6]. Table 1 lists a number of the more important parameters that influence the capacitor designer's choice of geometry, connections, and materials
Table 2. Properties of Typical Insulating Materials [6]. Material 6 Air 1.000585 Aluminum oxide 7.0 Bakelite (general purpose) 6.0 Castor oil 3.7 Ceramics 5.5-7.5 Ethylene glycol 39 High-voltage ceramic (barium 500-6000 titanate composite and filler) Kapton (polyamide) 3.6 Kraft paper (impregnated) 6.0 Lucite 3.3 Mylar 2.5 Paraffin 2.25 Polycarbonate 2.7 Polyethylene 2.2 Polypropylene 2.5 Polystyrene 2.5 Poly sulfone 3.1 Pyrex glass 4.6 Quartz, fused 3.85 Reconstituted mica 7.8 Silicone oil 2.8 Sulfur hexafluoride 1.o Sulfur Tantalum oxide Teflon Titanium dioxide ceramics Transformer oil Water pulse charged in 7-10 ps 4.0 11.0 2.2 15-500 2.2 80
to the application needs. In addition to the basic capacitance value and voltage rating, specifying all the characteristics presented in Table 1 allows the supplier to provide the most cost-effective capacitor for the given application. The fundamental parameters open to control by the designer, listed on the left of Table 1, are controlled to a large degree by the environmental factors, such as temperature range, voltage, wave-shape, pulse repetition rate (rep-rate) and duty cycle. Essentially all these environmental factors affect the life expectancy of the capacitor [2]. It is here that the user can reap considerable cost savings by providing the designer with all the data listed in Table 1 and an accurate assessment of the lifetime of the equipment into which the capacitor is to be placed [2-51.
Charging Switch S, Discharging Switch: S,
va (MV/m)
3 12 12 14 8-14 20 2 280 80 20 200 10 280 180 384 20 320 20 20 64 14 -8 (per atm)
-
-L Upper and Lower Melallic Eleclrodes Dieleclric Material
Figure 1. Schematic representation of the parallel-plate capacitor geometry. Note that the charging loop normally contains a current-limiting element , such as a resistor or inductor [6]. It should be noted that very long lifetimes, in excess of 100 million charge-discharge cycles, can often take the capacitor designer of compact energy discharge units into regions where lifetime data are not available [2]. Thus, it might be advantageous in some cases to allow for capacitor replacement a t fixed time intervals as a function of allowable equipment downtime, utilization factor, and the specific cost-benefit ratios of the capacitor designs for longer lifetimes. The user who is faced with very long lifetime requirements will often be restricted to utilizing capacitor designs that have been based upon the highly reliable insulation systems for commercial pulsed lasers (1 to 50000 Hz pulse repetition frequency or rate (prf or prr) [2,6-101) and 60 Hz ac power distribution systems [2-111. Low inductance and very fast discharge times at high prr do not find a broad data base in this wealth of dc and 60 Hz test information [2]. With the advent of the pressing needs for high prr capacitors, emphasis herein is oriented in this direction. Those who require single-shot devices (i.e. 1 pulse/min) will find a broad spectrum of
4 60
-
1040 20
The selection of a capacitor design requires the matching of available capacitor characteristics and parameters
<
864
devices (i.e. 1 pulse/min) will find a broad spectrum of capacitors of high reliability for more than 10000 shots a t modest voltage reversals (< 20%), peak currents of 50 kA, and voltages up t o 100 kV. Suffice t o say, the enormous data base available for designs utilizing this performance profile is very well documented [6,8,13].
L
<
I I I I
1
Z 315
6 I-
0 0 E
10
L
ow
z
100
200
0
W n
TEMPERATURE
4 -5' U
Figure 3. Relative permittivity n variation with temperature for impregnated paper tissue [6]. in conjunction with the insulating media the manufacturer must use t o provide the highest reliability for this lifetime. It is here that several iterations with the potential suppliers and careful specification of the desired mean time between failures (MTBF) at a high confidence level, say 90%, can often save the user money. As a general rule, the smaller the capacitor is specified to be for a given lifetime, independent of prr, the more expensive it will be [2]. For high reliability, the user is generally better off t o place the minimum of size constraints upon the capacitor manufacturer and t o avoid unique, sole-source designs at all costs unless there is no other alternative [B, 12-14]. The permittivity of any insulating material placed into an elementary parallel plate capacitor is a direct measure of the ability of the material t o store electrical energy. This energy is stored in the polarization of the insulating medium, either permanent, as in water, or induced as in the case of aluminum oxide [l].Essentially, this polarization comes from one of two sources. The first source is the alignment of permanent dipoles in the insulating medium parallel t o each other and in line with the internal electric fields (the field applied during charging in Figure 1, is parallel to the 2: axis and its unit vector originates from the top (positive) plate of the capacitor [l]). The second source is the generation of a n induced polarization by the presence of the applied electric field. By dielectric is meant a n idealized insulating medium having a permittivity E and no dc leakage or ac power losses [l,2,6,12, 15,421.
-100
100
200
TEMPERATURE
- "C
Figure 2. Relative permittivity n variation with temperature for dry (i.e., unimpregnated) plastic films [6].
The balance of this Section addresses most of the individual headings in Table 1 in detail. At this point, specific recommendations concerning capacitor compositions, impregnants, and lifetimes will be incorporated under the umbrella of these headings. Thus, there might be some need t o digress within each area while discussing the physical, geometrical and chemical processes responsible for affecting each of these parameters. As a preamble t o this discussion, the basic characteristics of capacitors will be summarized and then related t o the unique requirements of specific classes of capacitors (e.g., energy discharge, pulse filtering, and/or ac and dc filters, resonant network, etc.) [6-443.
INSULATING M E D I A
The capacitance relation is shown in Equation 2. In general, the plate area A is determined by the dimensions the user can tolerate, and the separation d is controlled almost totally by the lifetime the user specifies,
Vol. 25 N o . 5 , October 1990
865
field, the polarization is a true elastic process so that no bound internal energy states exist. Thus, the induced dipole moment susceptibility X , n d is constant up to frequencies corresponding to the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum [I]. In the case of ions, X , n d can be much larger as a result of'atomic or ionic displacements within the molecules (i.e. changes in bond angles and interatomic distances caused by the application of E). It is constant for frequencies up into the infrared portion of the spectrum and is of concern primarily for ionic impurities in almost all capacitors. In this case, these ionic impurities experience a force proportional to the local electric field a t their site and this force, constant during dc on-time and oscillatory during discharge, can be sufficient to cause mechanical rupture in the insulating media and hence electrical failure (i.e. breakdown) [2,6,8]. Note that the ratio of the forces upon the interstitial ionic impurity, and insulation media molecules, is in direct proportion to their relative dipole moments, in the presence of the applied electric field. Thus, if all impurities have interstitial or lattice site polarizations less than those of the host insulating media, little chance of mechanical damage will exist. The question of ionization and breakdown from voids in the dielectric is rarely dominated by this class of polarizations and is discussed later along with other corona processes [6,15].
w
0
-55
-10
35
80
125
TEMPERATURE
- "C
Figure 4. Relative permittivity n variation with temperature for several representative classes of capacitors [6].
I N D U C E D P 0 LA RIZ AT IO N
With induced polarization, the electric field is an external perturbation on the molecule or atom and tends to attract the electron cloud towards the positive plate in the capacitor. On the other hand, the attractive forces between the electrons and the nucleus tend to resist this displacement of the electron cloud, giving rise to an equilibrium condition wherein the molecule has a finite dipole moment. This moment, then, is solely induced by the presence of an external (applied) electric field and is a result of an elastic displacement of the electronic charge distribution relative to the nucleus [l]. To a first approx+ imation, this polarization P , n d can be shown 40 be proportional to the applied electric field vector E with the constant of proportionality being X , n d the susceptibility
2 n d
PERMANENT POLARIZATION
Insulating media can also possess a permanent dipole moment p , which is randomly oriented. The external field will tend to exert a torque on each dipole and try to orient it in the direction of the field 2421. This orienting and ordering influence of the field is counteracted by the thermal motion of the particles and their local interaction of one dipole moment with an_other. Analysis shows that the application of the field E to such insulating media results in a net orientation of some fraction of all these dipoles parallel to the field, thus:
= Xind
'
E '
(4)
Note that both
Rnd
and
E' are vectors [1,2,42].
(5) A discussion of the impact of anisotropic materials on any of the capacitor systems requires a tensor description for the susceptibility X , n d and is beyond the scope of this paper. Just for the sake of interest, such anisotropic miG terials tend to have rather large internal losses and low breakdown voltages. They might, however, be of considerable use in the field of electromagnetic shock lines [2].
For induced polarizability caused by electronic displacements within atoms and molecules of the insulating media, under the influence of an applied external electric where P is the polarization per unit volume of the insulati;g media resulting from the dipole orientation caused by E; xe is the permanent dipole moment susceptibility, generally related to n (relative permittivity) as n = (1t - ~ ~ ) , with E = tcco [42]. Because therm+ equilibrium is the major depolarizing perturbation on P , increasing the temperature T of the insulating medium can be shown to result in a linear decrease in xe 1 1 1 . This accounts for the dramatic decrease
+
Sarjeant: Capacitors
l 1O2
little value in increasing the energy stored because the [l]. All the fields here permittivity then falls towards are the external ones applied t o the insulating media as a result of having a potential difference Vd, across the capacitor electrodes. There exists today no general qualitative theory of dipolar materials that can be applied to these problems in capacitors because of difficulties in evaluating the internal fields and because the dipole rotability possesses complex thermal and fabrication-induced anisotropies [42]. The discussions thus become qualitative [2].
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20
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110 140
TENPERATWE
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20 50 80 1 1 0 1 4 0
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110 140
TEMPERATURE
TEWERATURE
- "C
- "c
s
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CAPACITANCE
DlSSlPATlON
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(b)
8 3
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20
50
80
110 140
6 -50' Q
--. -.
Figure 6.
20 40 60 80 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 4 0
PERCENT OF DC RATING
TEWERATURE -"C
Figure 5. Variation as a function of temperature [6]. (a): Variation of the insulation resistance of a Kraft paper tissue/castor oil impregnated capacitor. (b): Variation of the capacitance of a Kraft paper tissue/castor oil impregnated capacitor. (c): Variation of the power factor (i.e., ac power loss) in a Kraft paper tissue/castor oil impregnated capacitor. in capacitance observed in many polar insulating media. Note that operation a t voltages above the level where all the dipoles are oriented parallel to the applied field is of
(a): Capacitance change and dissipation factor characteristics of Cera-Mitem type 715 HV (5 to 40 kVdc ratings) ceramic capacitors as a function of temperature [6]. (b): As a function of % rated dc voltage [6]. In solids, the susceptibility decreases with increasing temperature, except for a large susceptibility increase a t the melting point where all the dipoles are free to rotate strongly in the field direction [42]. If the capacitor is a t this temperature, it has likely melted and shorted, so further comment is irrelevant. On the other hand, ceramic
867
materials such as barium titanate possess large susceptibilities as they are spontaneously polarized, giving rise to a very large permanent dipole moment in the material [42]. Hence, the permittivity is large and has a significant decrease with increasing temperature and electric field [42]. Above a critical temperature, known as the Curie temperature, this polarization all but disappears and the permittivity drops dramatically towards E,,. The influence of an applied electric field upon the capacitance of these types of capacitors is discussed later, and it is interesting to speculate how this property allows timevarying pulse-forming networks t o be synthesized [4]. The wide range of permittivity and breakdown strength of typical insulating media is illustrated in Table 2. In Table 3 capacitor storage temperature ranges and capacitance changes with age are illustrated [6-81. In summary, there are insulating materials having large permittivities which in general one desires to maintain as constant as possible, or monotonically increase as a function of E, in order to store the maximum energy in the capacitor [l,21. Almost all the major contribution t o the permittivity for capacitor insulation can be shown t o be made by the dipole moment(s) in the insulating medium/media [l]. This moment has a temperature, field, and frequency of discharge and prr class of dependencies that are not yet subject t o accurate physical modeling from fundamental principles [4-61. Thus, it is necessary to adopt a parametric approach for each material of interest, which is a technology issue that has been rather well addressed in the case of dc and single-shot insulation tests and capacitor design [2,8]. The field of high prr capacitors does not have an extensive data base and is a very fertile field for further research [2,8,14,20-23, 25-28].
material between the capacitor plates [6]. The permittivity K is initially set by design in selecting insulating materials and impregnants (for fluid-impregnated capacitors) that are optimum for the class of capacitor being constructed. The major environmental factors causing a change in K. are:
1. Temperature range.
2. Voltage. 3. Humidity. 4. Frequency. 5. Storage temperature and time.
TEMPERATURE RANGE
A P PL ICAT ION- DRIVEN CA PACI TO R CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR INTERRELATIONSHIPS

to electrical, mechanical, thermal, and other environmental stresses, 11 in all, that are listed on the righthand side in Table 1 [6]. The capacitance value of the capacitor is generally measured on a low-voltage (X 1 V,, ac) bridge a t a frequency of 1000 He. Assuming the capacitor to be mechanically well made, neither the area nor the plate separation will change t o any significant degree during charge or discharge. Hence, all the variations in capacitance come about as a result of these environmental factors changing the permittivity of the
Temperature variations in n, and thus the capacitance value, are widely different for various insulating media [6]. These variations depend also upon the liquid impregnant utilized to fill voids between the capacitor plates and insulating media as well as upon any small voids in permeable materials such as paper [3]. In the latter case, permeation of the impregnant into the paper results in a very significant improvement of the electrical strength of the insulation, primarily as a result of suppressing corona. Corona is suppressed by changing the IC of the voids, now filled with a liquid, t o be nearly equal to that of the solid dielectric. First, the corona inception voltage is increased by replacing gaseous voids in the insulation with a liquid whose electric strength is greater than that of the gaseous void. It is noted that the higher the K of the impregnant, the lower the voltage stress on it [3]. Figures 2, 3 and 4 illustrate average curves of n against temperature and the corresponding % change in capacitance from its value a t 25'C [6]. Note that special processing of the insulating media in the manufacture of the thin insulating films (thicknesses from < 10 t o 100 pm), as well as utilization of proprietary impregnants, can alter these curves very significantly and reduce changes in K a t the higher temperatures [5,7,8].
N circuit applications, the capacitor is often subjected
The slowly varying plastic films such as Teflonm and polystyrene (Figure 2) find their n is changed very little upon impregnation with several of the available silicone impregnating fluids [5,6]. The effect of an impregnant on the K of a film is due to sorption of the impregnant, and this is small in these cases, particularly because of low solubility. In addition, these fluids possess very small power losses that are essentially frequency independent. To maintain these low losses, a paper wick cannot be employed. There are also significant manufacturing process innovations to be made in assembly, packaging and
868
by the selection of the film and impregnant that gives the application-driven lifetime/frequency loss characteristics [2]. These techniques are to a large degree proprietary. Various selected representative combinations that manufacturers have chosen and tested are to be subsequently discussed; their behavior is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 [6,81. Two particular classes of capacitors are of interest: paperimpregnated with castor oil and high-n ceramics [6]. The paper capacitor is vacuum impregnated with, for example in the case of Aerovox, a liquid named ' H y v o y D', a specially processed and treated grade of castor oil specifically prepared for electrical applications. These capacitors exhibit temperature variations in IC (Figure 5) having a drastic decrease in the capacitance a t low temperatures. This is also followed by very large increases in the internal losses, which are a result of increasing intermolecular losses as the temperature decreases, subsequent solidification of the impregnant, followed by intense corona activity and early failure. Castor oil capacitors used < O'C ought to be provided with appropriate heaters if constancy of capacitance is a requirement [8]. Consider the classes of bulk (i.e., single layer of thickness, 21 1 to 3 cm) ceramic capacitors having published characteristics [6,9, lo]. The capacitance variation with temperature for the Cera-Mite 715 series illustrated in Figure 6, is large indeed. Through gradual developments over the last few years, the manufacturer has now a very stable unit whose designation is the 720/722 Series (CO57 formulation). The improvement is clearly evident in Figure 7 where the variation from 25 to 70'C is less than 3% compared to 30% for the 715 Series as illustrated in Figure 6 [6]. Tests were run on a special version of the 720 Series having double silvering, half-inch studs soldered to the silvering after the silver has been hot-tin dipped [SI. The edges were varnish coated, and there was a 1 mm nonsilvered margin, for operation in Dow Corning 200 silicone insulating fluid, 20 cSt viscosity. Under these conditions, operation a t 50 kV dc for single-shot applications was feasible, provided fingers, smoke, solder flux, and especially silicone rubber were kept out of the oil. The exception may be the special room-temperature vulcanizing silicone (RTV) rubber made by Dow Corning for use on copper surfaces, because no corrosive materials are given off during curing (Types 3140 and 3145). This material requires the use of a rosin/ketone surface adhesion preparation available from Dow Corning, known as Type 1201 primer. Note that cure times are 1 to 2 days for the RTV, which can be reduced somewhat through gentle heating [6].
! a
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201
1 0
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-20
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0
20
40
60
80
100
PERCENT OF RATED DC VOLTAGE
Figure 7.
Cera-Mite type 720/722 HV ( 5 to 40 kV dc) ceramic capacitors [6]. (a): IR vs. C at 25'C and 180 V, (b): C vs. temperature, (c): C vs. voltage.
impregnation of non-wicked energy-discharge types of capacitors, which will require considerable further development for high-reliability applications [2,3]. The conclusion is that temperature-induced variations in IC for polymeric materials can be made small enough to be insignificant for energy-discharge capacitors; this is done
869
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0.80 p
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TEMPERATURE
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TEMPERATURE
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FREQUENCY
Figure 8.
HZ
Characteristics of type C p hf, High-Energy Corporation capacitors. (a): Thermal capacitance stability of several classes of insulation materials, (b): the power loss for the same materials as a function of temperature, (c): insulation resistance, (d): variation in power loss with frequencies. Note the low loss of the polysulfone types at high frequencies, and the very high insulation resistance of polycarbonate units up to 130C [6].
Pulse-charged (in times < 1p s ) operation minimizes corona limitations on lifetime [6]. The tests showed that lifetime scales by about the 12th power of the ratio of the voltage stresses. As a datum point, 20 units, nominally of 1800 pF, had 10 failures at a pulse charge voltage of 190 kV and 30% reversal, with a discharge period of 50 ns full-width half-maximum (FWHM), after a total of 50 discharges [6]. This correlated to a lifetime of two to three shots a t 210 kV charging voltage a t about a 50% reversal, obtained from a sample of three units that were not preconditioned a t lower voltages. In contrast, the 715
Series was not usable above 130 kV and had a lifetime of about 100 shots a t 110 kV and 20% reversal [6,43-461. An example of the thermal properties of a hf, low-loss capacitor using plastic film impregnated with (as usual) the proprietary fluid, is shown in Figure 8 [47]. Polysulfone exhibits low power losses in these commercial units, rated to pass up to 47 kVA of reactive power a t an rms current of 25 A. From this Figure it is also quite evident why Mylar capacitors are not suitable for very high prf (i.e. > 1000 Hz) operation, from the standpoint of
870
Sarjean t: Capacitors
capacitance stability and increasing internal losses with temperature [47].
LUMPED PARAMETER CAPACITOR MODEL

EQUIVALENT SERIES RESISTANCE
VOLTAGE
The voltage rating of the capacitor, along with the other environmental factors will determine the lifetime the user can expect from the unit. For most insulating media, except ceramic, there is an insignificant effect of the applied voltage upon the capacitance value of the capacitor [6]. To illustrate the behavior of ceramic capacitors, refer to Figures 6, 7, and 9, wherein the change in capacitance vs. rated dc voltage is shown for Cera-Mitem Type 715 and 720/722 capacitors, and Murata Type DHS capacitors. They are all similar in behavior so that the nameplate capacitance, measured a t 1000 Hz and 1 V,, applied, must be reduced according to these curves as the dc voltage is increased. For those applications where pulse charging is used, Figure 10 shows the decrease in capacitance for the 715 and 7201722 Series up to 120 kV pulsecharge voltage. Note that the capacitance decreased only by 30% a t the nameplate voltage of 40 kV compared to the 45% reduction shown on the dc curves. There appears to be no straightforward explanation for the smaller decreases in capacitance under pulse charging [6].
The ESR of a capacitor is that resistance which, in series with a suitable ideal capacitance, yields an impedance equal to that of the actual capacitor at the chosen frequency of measurement. Both the ESR and the equivalent series capacitance will, in general, vary with the frequency chosen for measurement, so that the series circuit combination will represent the actual capacitor exactly only at the specific measurement frequency. If a more complex equivalent circuit is chosen, such as the upper circuit of Figure 11, containing two reactances and two resistances rather than only one of each, these four components can be chosen to make this equivalent circuit represent the actual capacitor exactly a t each of two measurement frequencies, rather than only one as for the two-component series circuit. Over a frequency range containing the two measurement frequencies, the upper circuit of Figure 11 will usually represent the actual capacitor more accurately than any two-element series circuit can, but the representation will in general be exact only a t the two measurement frequencies. At any one frequency, the loss in the capacitor can be expressed as the loss in a single, generally frequency dependent, resistance R in the series equivalent circuit discussed above or in the lower circuit of Figure 11. Unless soldered or other metallurgical bonds are made, this R will have a significant current dependence when peak currents rise t o 2 10 kA [2,3,6,8]. In these cases, compression contacts have small oxide layers, which give rise to localized heating where partial (i.e. spot) ohmic contact is made. Such spot increases the power lost per pulse over metallurgical (e.g., soldered, welded or brazed) connection configurations. Whether or not this is important depends upon the peak and rms currents, as well as upon the prr in energy discharge service. The persistent usage of inserted tab designs a t high prr in liquid impregnated capacitors causes severe heating that can seriously lower the lifetime. In addition, the gases released in this process can cause dangerous pressures t o build up inside the capacitor case, often causing case ruptures. Flexible cases or solid cases with pressure relief vents are required. Experience to date with the latter has been quite conclusive as to the protection level achieved. Only in the case of reconstituted mica capacitors (Figure 12), where the tabs are under very high pressures, as a result of the fabric& tion process, has the inserted t a b design reliably sustained high rms current loadings far in excess of 10' shots [6]. The number of tabs per end-connection determines the
A capacitor can be represented a t a specific frequency by a lumped equivalent series resistance (ESR) and equivalent series inductance (ESL) connected in series with a n ideal capacitance of value C . In addition, a lumped shunt resistance can be added across the ideal capacitor C to account for the dc leakage resistance of the insulating media comprising the capacitor. In the equivalent circuit shown in Figure 11 [6], R, is the series resistance due to leads, contact terminations, and the electrodes on the capacitor insulating media. R, 0.1 R and has a frequency and peak current dependence. Rp is the leakage resistance of the capacitor arising from the resistivity of the insulating media and case material, as well as insulating media losses. Generally, the dc leakage resistance is 300 RF and is much larger than the frequency dependent insulating media losses. L is the measured inductance of the capacitor, generally having self-resonant frequency (SRF), being primarily a geometrically determined quantity. C is the capacitance of the capacitor, usually is measured by the manufacturer on a bridge a t a 1 V,, level and a frequency of 1000 Hz. Due note must be taken of the voltage coefficient of capacitance in ceramic units [9, IO].
<
8 71
s
I
2 0
0
12 4
1 0 2
8
1 0
0
-10
i4 !
-20
-40
6
4
-20
-30
f 2
-60 -80 -100

-80-2040
-2
2 0 -4
-40
100160
2
TEMPERATURE- "C
20
s
I
!
6
4 a
4
2ow
1 0 3
-50
io4 io5 lo6

HZ
40
80 120
FREQUENCY
oi0
RATED D c
20
10
1 0
:l
O
-10
-20
0
TIME
2000
4000
200
400
1 6
24
HOURS
TEMP. CYCLES
TEMP. CYCLES
Figure 9. Capacitance and dissipation factor of of Murata type DHS pulse discharge ceramic capacitors [6], as function of (a): temperature, (b): frequency, (c): % of rated dc voltage, (d): time on aging (15 kV, 85'C), (e): number of temperature cycles for a test voltage of 15 kV dc and a temperature of 25'C and, (f): number of temperature cycles for a test voltage of 15 kV dc, a temperature of 25*C, at a relative humidity of 90 to 95%.
rms and peak-current carrying capability of the mica capacitor connection, with exact numbers depending upon the tab width and compression pressure [6].
X , a t frequency f is given as [l]
x
where i = f
c -
I we
CAPACITIVE REACTANCE
l and w = 2 r f
IMPEDANCE
For a fixed permittivity E the reactance of the capacitor
At high frequencies, the inductive reactance component
~~
8 72
must be taken into account [6]. From the equivalent circuit of this real capacitor (Figure 11) the impedance Z (a)a t frequency f is
1 Z = R + i ( w L - - )w c
(7)
p F capacitor, causes ringing much longer than the calculated 100 ns, depending on 1 [43,44]. The only way to make a fast discharge capacitor is to manufacture it with short-length sections whose discharge times are significantly shorter than the desired lumped element discharge time of the capacitor under construction [6,8]. Caution must be used in employing capacitors above their SRF because they operate as inductors for these frequencies so that fast transients will result in very little current flow through the capacitor, yet yield very large voltages across the external terminals [6,9]. In filter applications, this means that substantial ripple voltages will arise that can cause circuit malperformance. In rf circuitry, this inductance of the capacitor must be taken into account in circuit design or hf tuned circuits will be detuned by lead inductance [9]. There are ways of fabricating very low inductance capacitors utilizing many very fast-discharge, small capacitors in parallel; however, a few moments of reflection on the required reliability of each of these capacitors in the assembly in order to achieve a specified system reliability, should give pause for thought. In meeting another yet different requirement, there are
a large number of very complex, single-shot systems in
and the magnitude of this impedance is

1 z= [R)" + ( w L -))"I' w c
-
At very high frequencies, the inductive term dominates [8, 9). As the frequency decreases, a point is reached where the inductive and capacitive reactances are equal so that at this point Z = R , and the capacitor acts as a pure resistor a t the frequency, generally referred to as the self resonant frequency (SRF) of the capacitor [6]. Table 3. Thermal stability of several types of capacitors Capacitor Type Castor oil/Kraft paper Plastic film/proprietary impregnant -20.. . $60
-65.. . $125
It is generally best to stay far below the SRF, because of the very large rms currents that can flow in a low-inductance discharge loop a t the SRF, meaning large power losses inside the capacitor. Note that any capacitor can have more than one SRF, depending upon the construction geometry and the transmission line properties of each series section inside the capacitor [9]. Detailed discussions on this matter are very complex and beyond the scope of this paper. The only remark made is that a section inside a capacitor is generally similar to a rolledup, parallel-plate capacitor of some length 1 which forms a transmission line and can only discharge in a time equal to the two-way transit time 7 along the line where
r=--K, c
existence that work very well and have had very few, if any, reliability problems with their capacitors. It is only fair to point out that this is after significant amounts of money were spent to achieve high reliability capacitor designs. Many research groups actively participated in and, in many cases, were instrumental in solving the major hurdles in these capacitor development programs [8,27-361. This is just now becoming the case for lowinductance, high prr capacitor development [6-81. The SRF of several bulk HV ceramic capacitors has been measured [45]. For both the Murata Type DH and the Cera-Mite Type 720 of capacitance values 2890 and 2380 p F respectively, the SRF was 20 50.5 MHz and the series inductance was 18 and 20 nH, respectively. Thus, many fast discharge circuits ( w 50 ns pulse width) employ these capacitors near their SRF, resulting in increased circuit losses and capacitor heating.
21
(9)
POWER AND DISSIPATION FACTOR

POWER FACTOR
The term c is the velocity of light in free space, and is the relative permittivity [6].
K.
This time r is independent of the lumped inductance of the capacitor and, in case of a 10 nH inductance in a 0.1
The power factor PF of a capacitor gives the electricad losses of a capacitor when operating in a specific ac frequency circuit. In a practical capacitor, the current will not be exactly 90" leading the applied voltage, as a
Vol. 25 N o . 5 , October lQQ0
8 73
ESFf=R
uu
O F r y
m t Figure 11
Capacitor equivalent circuits for steady-state sinusoidal frequency waveforms (after [SI).
50 100 CAPACITOR VOLTAGE

Figure 10.
150
kv
Variation of capacitance with pulse-charge voltage of Cera-Mite series 715 and 720/722 ceramic capacitors, for a < 1 ps charging time (after [SI).
The DF generally increases with frequency a t temperatures below the minima of the DF vs. frequency curve for the capacitor. It is always a measure of the power loss inside the capacitor [ll]. Normally, this calculation of power lost is straightforward, since the current loop defines the discharge of a half-sine pulse
result of termination and lead resistances and insulating media nonlinearities [6-91. The power factor a t a specified sinusoidal frequency is given as the ratio of the ESR to the impedance 2 of the capacitor, generally multiplied by 100 to convert it into %. For power factors of 5 lo%, they have essentially the same value as the DF. THE DISSIPATION FACTOR The dissipation factor D F is defined as the ratio of the effective series resistance R to the capacitive reactance X , a t a sinusoidal frequency f . It is normally expressed in % as DF = ( R / X , ) l 0 0 = (RWC)lOO (10) The DF is essentially the same as the P F for values under 10%. The user is cautioned that the insulating media in advanced capacitors, such as the multilayer ceramic (MLC) capacitor may well have a DF that is a function of frequency, applied voltage, and dc bias levels, because of the intrinsic properties of the insulating medium [9, lo]. Similar comments apply at high frequencies to electrolytic and high permittivity polymer film energy discharge capacitors. Actual dissipation must be anchored to full-power temperature rise measurements for the specific capacitor installed in a given test circuit. Making low-level DF measurements with conventional bridges is of more value when comparing capacitors of a given type
where I p e a k is the peak current and r its duration, assuming no current reversal; the prr is f Hz [6,46]. In complex discharge systems where shaped pulses are required, a similar calculation can be effectively carried out by integrating the square of the discharge current over the discharge time and multiplying by the prr. Typically, ceramic capacitors at room temperature (25'C) have a DF 6 5 % in the 0.1 to 1 MHz frequency region [47], castor oil-paper 1%, polysulfone-silicone oil and other proprietary impregnants about O.l%, and reconstituted mica nominally < 0.5 %, depending also somewhat upon the geometry and compactness the user demands. The only capacitors to have compiled a long lifetime record at high prr are the low-loss polymer film and mica type units described above [7,48-551. All in all, there are very sound arguments in favor of the reconstituted mica type up to 100 kV where high peak currents and radiation 200 A rms hardness are demanded. High currents, can be handled by carefully fabricated mica units in lowinductance geometries, but they are somewhat more expensive than modules of liquid impregnated polysulfone capacitors; also, mica capacitors do not catastrophically fail, they just short and melt when overloaded [55,56].
<
PI.
Because the DF must be measured a t the frequency of discharge of the capacitor, it is important that the supplier provide the user either with this number or the power loss a t the specified prr, from which the DF and
8 74
hence the ESR R can be estimated. This R determines the ultimate Q of the capacitor
Q=---=--
DF
wRC
for the DF expressed as a pure number, and not in %. Except for reconstituted mica capacitors, the internal resistance of a tabbed capacitor is current dependent [55]. Thus, a t short discharge times, high peak currents, and high prr, the Q is lower than shown by calculations based on low-level measurements. Once again, this is a strong argument for metallurgically bonded connections (e.g., extended foil, soldered (or brazed or welded), and swaged geometries) in all types of high rep-rate duty capacitors.
-60-30 0
10'
30 60 90 120 I50
In addition to the frequency dependence of the DF, there is a temperature effect, which simply stated says that the higher the temperature, the higher the level of power lost inside the capacitor for the same stored energy and current waveform [8,20]. For ceramic capacitors, this is illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and 9; for castor oil-impregnated films in Figure 8. For mica, the curve is slowly varying (Figure 12) from 0.5% at 25C up to 1.0% a t 125'C, a t which temperature the capacitor is still happily operated without any derating. The variation in DF with temperature is illustrated in Figure 13 for both dry insulating media and liquid-impregnated Kraftm paper. The manufacturer can and does use the DF as a quality control tool. Variations in D F above normal values for a particular lot of the same capacitors generally indicates a possible loss of fabrication (or material) control. The conclusions presented in this paragraph should be highlighted by the facts that they pertain to the situations wherein the DF, at a given frequency, increases with temperature, for the first part of this paragraph, and that impurities are present, for the last part. To sum up, the user operating a capacitor in ac or high prr pulsed discharge applications is intimately concerned with the D F because the equivalent ESR factor in D F is the heat producing element in these applications [6].
QUALITY FACTOR
10'
10'
102
10'
1o'
-60 -30
la50 1.oo
r
'
30
60
90
120 150
o.ooL
'
'
'
'
-60-30 0 30 60 90 120 150

TEWERATLFIE ' C
Figure
12.
The quality factor Q is a figure of merit for a capacitor in ac circuits and is the reciprocal of the DF. It can be applied to capacitors in energy discharge applications in which case it is related to the peak voltage reversal the capacitor experiences in the first full current discharge period, and is used to estimate the life reduction because
Axel pulse duty type mica capacitors as a function of temperature [6]. (a): Change in capacitance in percent. (b): Change in insulation resistance. (c): Change in dissipation (i.e., ac power loss within the capacitor) as a percent of the power flow through the capacitor.
of. the resultant voltage reversal. Results in this case are strongly dependent upon the nature of the insulating media [2,6].
I E E E Transactions on Electrical Insulation
8 75
Table 4. Available range of energy discharge capacitors for repetitive duty [6-81
Capacitance Voltage Design Life Maximum Inductance Mass PF kV shots rep-rate nH kg 0.02 17-60 2.7-15 Plastic case 0.01-0.4 30-100 30k-10M Double-ended plastic case 0.01-0.1 1G 0.25 36-45 50-120 3.1-6.5 Cylindrical metal case 10-30 2-5 50k 1 10-15 0.4-1 Drawn metal can, double roll seams 0.2-185 2-25 50M 0.4 70-180 0.8-4.7
H U MI D l T Y
For hermetically sealed capacitors, humidity is not a problem except that high humidity does cause some decrease in the surface breakdown voltage - of the terminal insulators. Moisture in the capacitor internal insulating media will cause a large reduction in leakage resistance, and increases in the DF and internal gas pressures at high prr. A long-term dc leakage test or corona-level test before and after operation will generally identify such defective units.
FREQUENCY
fully reformed and ready for circuit operation (this can take several hours for large units when formed through a constant current power supply). INS U L A T ION RESISTA N C E The insulation resistance is given by the applied dc voltage to the capacitor terminals divided by the leakage current and is normally given in Mil. It is strongly time dependent, stabilizing minutes t o hours after dc voltage is applied. For dc current levels 2 10 mA, substantial internal self-heating of the capacitor can take place from this parasitic power dissipation, reducing component life [52,57].
RIPPLE CURRENTS A N D VOLTAGES
The variations of C and D F with frequency and dc bias levels have been discussed earlier. When utilizing capacitors in pulse-forming networks, particularly in tapered PFN designs wherein the impedance is constant but the capacitor values are staggered to achieve fast rise times, each capacitor sees a different Fourier frequency distribution in the currents that pass through. This must be taken into account in power-loss calculations and is best done by computer analysis [8,20,23-25,361.
STORAGE TEMPERATURE A N D T I M E
The ripple currents and permissible voltages are the rms values of the maximum allowable ac currents and voltages when superimposed upon a given dc voltage level. Normally, the ripple limits are given for a specific fundamental frequency range [6]. The user is cautioned that substantial internal heating can arise in circuitry containing near square-wave ripple components a s found in several classes of new high power electronics systems [6,7]. Table 5. Failures modes observed in the aging of ceramic capacitors.
All capacitors have a range of storage temperatures beyond which either impurity migration, internal gasification from voids in the insulation, or chemical changes in the impregnant will cause reductions in lifetime [26-281. Bulk ceramic capacitors may suffer from depolarization with time, decreasing their capacitance [6]. Representative variations are summarized in Table 3.
LEAKAGE CURRENT
The leakage current is normally taken to mean the dc circuit current flow through a capacitor in a predominantly ac circuit, after stabilization time has been permitted [29]. This is typically from a few minutes to a n hour [57]. In the case of an electrolytic capacitor, the leakage current can be quite substantial until the unit is
SURGE VOLTAGE
The surge voltage is the maximumdc or ac voltage level that a given type of capacitor can withstand for a short
8 76
IN DUCTA N C E In an increasing variety of capacitor applications, inductance is almost as critical as capacitance. Capacitance welders and magnet chargers incorporate low-inductance capacitors, so that the stored energy can be delivered to the work efficiently. Defibrillators, used to treat a cardiac disorder, and high-intensity flash sources, important to pulsed lasers and many other applications, all require precise control of the discharge pulse-shape and, therefore, incorporate energy-storage capacitors that have minimum inductance values [7,8]. Table 6.
Parameters required to characterize standard or commercial multilayer-ceramic capacitors [IO]
1.25
1.oo
0.75
0.50 0.25
0.00 -100
100
200
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.oo
Capacitance, Dissipation factor C < 100 p F : 1 V at 1 kHz 100 pF< C 1 pF : 1 V a t 1 kHz C > 1 1pF : 10 mA at 1 kHs Insulation resistance Rated dc voltage applied High T (85'C):> 100 MSZ Low T (25'C): > 1 GSZ Dielectric withstand voltage 2.5~ rated dc voltage for 5 s
<
0.50 0.00 -100
100
200
TEMPERATURE Figure 13.
- "C
rf applications also may demand minimum internal inductance. Capacitors to be employed in the resonant circuits of microwave ovens, in induction furnaces, and in other high-power rf generating equipment must exhibit low intrinsic inductance. Otherwise, parasitic oscillations and attendant problems are more likely to occur. For these purposes, the inductance value must be known, in order to minimize the use of 'cut-and-try' procedures in equipment design and also must be consistent from one capacitor to the next, in order to obtain uniform performance among production units of these devices [49,50], Engineers, faced with a capacitor application in which internal inductance is important, are well-advised to measure this parameter for themselves, to obtain reliable data. Not all capacitor manufacturers have the equipment and trained personnel to perform accurate measurements of this type and, as a result, the inductance values that are provided on data sheets may be 'guesstimates', not measured values. The measurement of a small inductance that is inseparable from a large capacitance is not a matter of a few
Dissipation factor as a function of temperature, (a): dry (i.e., unimpregnated) film, (b): impregnated paper tissue. The rather large increase in dissipation factor for temperatures > 85'C and 5 0C is noted [6].
period of time, generally a few seconds, for each time that the electronic apparatus into which the capacitor is incorporated is energized. The permissible surge voltage is dependent upon temperature.
Vol.25 N o . 5 , October 1990
877
minutes work with a n rf bridge; however, several techniques have been developed t o solve this problem [9, lo]. In some cases, the SRF of the capacitor (i.e.,the L - C circuit consisting of the internal inductance and the capacitance) can be measured. In others, the transientdecay characteristic of the capacitor, when it is discharged through an external short-circuit, can be analyzed to determine the internal inductance value.
m
RF RMS
5 - F T COAXIAL TO-VOLTAGE
H IG H-l N D UCTANC E CAPACITORS

A wide variety of techniques can be applied when internal inductances < 50 nH are to be measured. In most of these, the SRF of the capacitor is measured by means of a calibrated rf generator or the time-base of an oscilloscope. When the effective capacitance value a t the resonant frequency has been determined, the total inductance in the resonant circuit is then computed from
(b)
YCAPAC'To
Le= 0 P O S I T I O N 1 RING FINGERS LlDlNG SHORT CIRCUIT
L=-
W 2 C
The internal inductance L , which is effectively in series with the capacitor, will usually be less than this computed value of L . To perform the measurement, external inductance must be added in most cases. Even when the external circuit consists of a direct short across the capacitor terminals, significant inductance may be contributed to the measurement, so that a correction must be applied to compute the internal value L , . Measurement of the SRF can be accomplished most conveniently when steady-state measurements using a n external variable-frequency source are possible; however , for lower values of inductance, it may be necessary to analyze the damped-oscillation pattern after shock excitation, t o determine this frequency [6,9,10,44].
S T EA DY-STAT E R ESON A N C E
\.
GNAL TO CURRENT FORMER a OSCIUOSCOPE
MAGNETIC-FIELO PROBE--/
Figure 14.
(a): Block diagram of an arrangement for measuring the series-resonant properties of a capacitor. A constant current is maintained as the frequency is varied. The oscillator is matched to the test capacitor by means of an autotransformer. The upper rf voltmeter, which is used to observe the voltage dip associated with self-resonance of the capacitor can be replaced by a suitable oscilloscope (after Hayworth, [44]). (b): The related mechanical diagram of a calculable variable inductor, to measure internal inductances 400 pH. This inductor is adjusted by changing the position of the sliding disk in the coaxial stub. A magnetic pickup monitors the current decay in the composite circuit, after the spark gap electrically closes [44].
>
Small-signal characteristics of capacitors can be measured with a Q meter, or by observing the frequency response when the capacitor is driven a t a uniform level of current over a band of frequencies [44]. Primarily useful for inductance values of 2 1 pH, the application of Q meters to this measurement is discussed adequately in most Q meter instruction books. Typically, the measurement is made with the capacitor shorted to its case. By means of the Q meter, the bandwidth and the resonant frequency can be determined for the parallel LC circuit that is formed by doing this. If the circuit Q > 3.0, resistive effects upon the observed resonant frequency are minor [6,8].
Figure 14 shows a block diagram of a test arrangement that can be used for 'standing-wave method' measurements. Generally, the input impedance of the test capacitor will be considerably less than the source impedance of the rf oscillator. To improve the impedance match, the autotransformer shown can be employed. It should have a total inductive reactance approximately equal to the oscillator output impedance, at the lowest frequency expected in the measurement. This coil usually can be made up when needed, from No. 12 AWG insulated solidcopper wire. The load tap, t o couple the test signal to the
8 78
test capacitor, should include about x 10% of the coil's turns [44]. Table 7.
Application related special testing of multilayer ceramic capacitors [lo].
Surge Testing Specified Pulse Amplitude and Duration Pre- and Post-test measurement Discharge Life Pulse Applications, current monitored Equivalent Series Resistance Measured a t specified frequency Optionally a t self-resonance ac Life Application frequency; guarded voltage; 125'C Corona (PD) Inception/Extinction Voltages At ac, dc or ac dc HV Insertion Losses, Crosstalk For Filter Networks or Components
While maintaining a constant-input current level, the oscillator frequency is varied to determine the lowest frequency that exhibits a minimum-voltage indication across the test capacitor. Then a second measurement is performed with the voltmeter t a p relocated so as to include less inductance (i.e., tap moved closer to the capacitor ground). If this next resonant frequency is higher, the true resonant frequency is being approached. The procedure is repeated until the highest possible resonant frequency (in the fundamental mode) is obtained. This frequency, and the known value of capacitance, can be used to compute L a , the effective series inductance of the capacitor. If available, a high-gain oscilloscope with suitable bandpass characteristics can be employed for the rf voltage indicator, and may help t o ensure that only fundamentalmode frequencies are recorded. In general, this standingwave method is useful for inductance values down to 50 nH [44].
<
The driver signal should be transmitted to the capac2 m of RG-8 coaxial cable. Care must itor through be taken to locate all leads and circuit components for minimum cross-coupling. The movable t a p on the testcapacitor input lead provides a means for establishing whether or not a frequency that exhibits minimum-voltage response is the true resonant frequency. Table 8.
Electrolytic capacitor state-of-the-art for hf filter use [65].
TRANSIENT RESPONSE
Case diam. mm 50 76 35 76
Size mm 143 143 143 143
C
pF 36000 89000 1000 4700
Rated
Vde
V 63 63 400 400
I,,, Stored Specific at energy energy 20 kHz J J/kg 27 71 148 30 176 197 11 80 300 32 376 410
Observations with an oscilloscope can also be employed, as shown in Figure 14, to measure relatively high inductance values. In one such method, an external short circuit is applied to the capacitor. A Rogowsky Coil [6,56] (sensitive current transformer) is employed to couple currents flowing in this short circuit t o an oscilloscope so that the SRF of the capacitor can be observed. To shock the test capacitor into a damped oscillation, a lower-value capacitor and a large external coil are selected, which resonate a t a higher frequency than the test capacitor. In performing this measurement, the second capacitor is charged, and then shorted through the coil, when it is adjacent t o the test capacitor. The position of the coil with respect to the test capacitor is critical. If it is too close, the resonant frequency of the test capacitor may be shifted from its true value. As a result, it can be difficult to obtain reliable results with this technique. A more common large-signal transient-response technique consists of short circuiting the test capacitor after it has been charged, to excite a damped self-oscillation; consistent results are difficult to attain with this technique. The effective resistance and inductance of the spark path ar,e not predictable, and, in addition, the inductive contribution of the external short circuit can be significant, and difficult to evaluate [44].
Table 9.
Available range of large energy discharge capacitors for single-shot operation [6-8,66,67].
[Voltage
c V Life Max L Mass pF kV shots J nH kg low 120-830 10-11 lOOk 50 35-40 74-145 medium 12-206 20-44 200k 50 45-60 74-145 high 1.3-32 40-100 50k 50 40-100 77-147
8 79
LOW-IN D U CTAN C E CAPACITORS

Inductance values < 40 nH can be achieved in capacitors that are specifically designed t o minimize this parameter. Measurement of these small inductances is complicated by several factors. External devices that must be connected to facilitate such measurements may add external inductance comparable t o or greater than the capacitors self-inductance. Resonant-frequency test results are difficult to interpret [44]. At the higher test frequencies that are commensurate with such low inductances, capacitor windings exhibit the properties of a distributedconstant transmission line. As a result, wave reflection phenomena distort the wave patterns that are observable with a n oscilloscope. It becomes necessary, then, t o distinguish between effects attributable to the capacitors series inductance L , and the transmission line properties of the capacitors structure [6]. La represents the electrical properties of the terminals, lead wires, interwinding spaces and other field-filled voids associated with the capacitor windings. The winding, on the other hand, exhibits the properties of pulse time, of impedance, and of capacitance, which can be related to the energy-storage properties of a transmission line. With the aid of a n external variable inductance, a transient-response technique has been used to determine series-inductance values to < 400 pH, in spite of these complex characteristics of the capacitor winding [24,44]. Table 10. Plastic case pulse discharge capacitors characteristics [6-8,66,67].
in inductance between any two positions can be calculated precisely. When connected directly to the capacitors coaxial terminals, this calculable variable inductor is effectively in series with the internal inductance. Also, it exhibits a simple geometry for the computation of inductance differences corresponding t o the various positions of the conductive disc that connects the center conductor tothe outer tube.
TIME
-20
shots Hz 0.04-2.4 13-100 100k 1 17-60 2.7-15 high prr 0.01-0.24 20-80 1G 400 15 2.3-7.7
-10
10
S
20
30
40
50
L - r H
VA RIA B L E- IN D U CTA N C E TECH NlQU E

While it may not be possible t o isolate the (lumped equivalent) internal inductance La in order t o measure it directly, it is possible t o infer its value from measurements performed with the device shown in Figure 15. A coaxial shorting element is constructed, whose inductance can be varied in well-defined steps, so that the difference
Figure 15. (a): Time plot of a transient response of a typical low inductance foil-wound capacitor. The magnetic probe shown in Figure 14b produces an output that is proportional to d i l d t . Extension of this curve yields a hypothetical value h, for this variable at t = 0. A set of h values are used to construct a solution as shown, (b): plot of the reciprocal values of h, obtained from a series of transient records such as the one shown in (a), inductance values L , of the external inductor of Figure 14b are the units of the right-hand abcissa. The origin corresponds to the minimuminductance position of the variable inductor, and L , values, plotted to the left of the origin, represent the inductance contributed by the capacitor and its terminals.
880
For each measurement, inductance differences so computed may require a skin-effect correction. This will be determined by the dominant frequencies present in the transient wave; as higher frequencies are involved, the effective dimensions of the shorting device will increase. With appropriate hf equipment, it is possible t o measure, and thus verify, the computed inductance differences [6]. While it is not possible to produce a zero inductance value with the device, the minimum value should be as small as possible. It is convenient to be able to increase the value of the external inductor t o M 5La. The adjustment range required usually can be approximated from an estimate based upon the capacitors geometry. A short air-gap is introduced in the center conductor, to be employed in initiating a transient current. To perform each step of the measurement, the voltage across the gap is increased until electrical breakdown occurs. Coupled into a magnetic-field probe, the resulting current transient is observed, and photographed as it appears on an oscilloscope. The procedure is then repeated for a t least five discrete values of the variable inductor. Greater precision can be achieved by increasing the number of inductance steps t o ten or fifteen [44]. To obtain clear records of the current transients, the signal-to-noise ratio should be increased as much as possible by adjusting the number of turns of the magnetic-field probe. Also, the use of a current transformer (Rogowsky Coil) can be helpful. For each, however, due consideration must be given t o frequency response, so as to preserve the fidelity of the waveform coupled into the probe. The output signal from this probe is proportional t o d B / d t , the time rate of change of flux density, which is proportional to d l l d t , the time derivative of the transient current [l]. A typical transient waveform is shown in Figure 15. The portion of this curve that follows the maximum voltage peak is a voltage-decay curve for the particular inductance value of the circuit at the time, combined with the transient characteristics of the capacitor winding. The capacitor-winding characteristics are constant for all of the measured transients. By extending the decay curve for each observed transient back to the zero-time line (initiation of the spark), a series of h values, each corresponding to a different inductance value, are obtained where h=
be extended back through the ordinate line, which corresponds to the minimum inductance setting of the calculable inductor, to an intercept with the abscissa ( l / h = 0). This will be the value of the series inductance La behind the shorting devices minimum inductance position. The curve of Figure 15 shows a resultant value of L8 of 10 nH, which is typical for a low-inductance extendedfoil capacitor. It should be noted that the dimensions of h, d l l d t , and h- are arbitrary and need not be known. It is not, therefore, necessary t o calibrate the probe system.
M
PARTIAL DISCHARGE A C T I V I T Y
Since the 1970s work has been done to develop and to evaluate HV capacitors, specifically impregnating fluids, initiated t o find a replacement for polychlorinateddiphenyl (PCB). Isopropylbiphenyl was developed for this purpose [ll,57-63] and was introduced into capacitor production in 1978 [60,61]. Although its performance has been very satisfactory, evaluation and development of capacitor impregnants has continued, and fluids which have become available since the latter half of the 1970s also have been evaluated. Most of these fluids have molecular characteristics similar to isopropylbiphenyl, containing aromatic groups (two phenyls) and relatively small aliphatic groups of one t o several carbon atoms [ll,171. They are considered for use in polypropylene film capacitors (all-film or film-plus-paper) and are accordingly required t o be compatible with this set of solid insulating media, as well as t o impart good HV properties over a wide range of temperatures, -40C to 1OOC.
<
The recent studies reviewed here evaluated several fluids in a series of small-scale tests [61,62]. These consisted of measurements made on only the fluids, and on small impregnated all-polypropylene film capacitor models, the latter serving as miniature (i.e., M 5%) representations of full-sized units. Very good correlation was obtained between the life performance of these model capacitors and full-sized units. The model capacitors used in the study included the feature of folded foil edges [61,62]; comparison was also made with foils, having the usual sharp-edged slit edge. The tests emphasized HV stability and resistance t o partial discharges, in conjunction with operation at low temperatures. For low temperature performance, attention was given t o fluidity since this is necessary for HV stability. With the low D F all-polypropylene film insulating media now dominating ac power factor capacitor production, high temperature testing does not require as much attention as previously for film-paper units [58-611.
[g]
t=O
If the reciprocal values l / h are now plotted against the inductance values, as shown in the lower graph in Figure 15, a straight-line plot will be obtained. This line can
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pulse-time trace for W e m c o p impregnated capacitors at -5O'C, with a folded foil edge [58].
This specific new test was developed following observations that there is a time lag of the order of minutes t o perhaps hours for partial discharge inception in capacitors a t low temperatures that depends on the voltage level. A PDIV whose determination takes this into account has practical significance regarding the operating voltage. This PDIV, as at low temperatures was found sometimes t o be lower than the one measured by the rapid-voltage-rise method, which is generally used. The time lag effect disappears with increasing temperature, and capacitors a t 25'C remained free of partial discharges for more than 10 days a t voltages slightly below the PDIV measured by the rapid-voltage-rise method [ll]. The PDIV field levels of all of the capacitors impregnated with the different fluids, were substantially higher over the entire temperature range with folded foil edges than with slit foil edges (Figure 17).
1%
Zl 0
10 Time, min. Figure 16.
Partial discharge inception step test of a Wemcolimpregnated capacitor with folded-edge foil at -5O'C, 4400 V , , 60 Hz. [58].
I O
Folded
M0 D EL CA PACIT0 R EVA L UAT I0 NS

The model capacitors used in the above study were of the small ballast capacitor type, of nominal value 0.15 pF, with a flattened winding. This winding contained two layers of 18 p m Hazym polypropylene film, and extended foils. Two foil constructions were utilized for every fluid; one with a foIded edge in the active insulating medium, and one with the edge slit as on the foil roll. These capacitors were then impregnated and sealed. For the low temperature tests, the capacitor fill-holes were opened and the capacitors were immersed in their impregnant in a large vessel. This was to avoid development of a partial vacuum over the active section which could occur on cooling fully sealed capacitors. The ac partial discharge inception voltage measurements were made down t o -5OPC, with a 60 Hz ac partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) step-test in which the voltage was kept constant a t successively higher ac voltage levels for relatively long times compared t o the rapid-voltage-rise method. The voltage was successively raised in 200 t o 400 V increments, after being kept constant for 30 min a t each level, until partial discharges appeared. The partial discharges ( 2 5 pC) in this step method appeared very suddenly with the 30 min period of voltage application. Figure 16 shows the discharge
0 0
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Folded
O
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Slit
1.2
Extinction
-60
-40
-20
0 20 Temperature. O C
40
60
Figure 17.
Partial discharge inception and extinction voltage stresses of Wemcol impregnated 2 x 18 pm polypropylene Hazy film capacitors with slit-edge and folded-edge foil [58].
The results of the 30 min step test at -5O'C for the PDIV showed that all fluids at low temperatures exhibited delayed onset of P D activity. The PDIV were the same when measured by the step test as by the faster voltage rise method. These step test measurements also showed clearly the advantage of folded foil edges.
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This study clearly showed the care that must be taken in PD measurements over wide temperature ranges.
LIFETIME
ARCW BETWEEN TAB A H ) ELECTRODE
DIELECTRIC
Lifetime is the major area in advanced capacitor technology. If it is assumed that the manufacturer utilized proven devices from which specials are derived, then the lifetime for capacitors in general is limited by gasification from arcing at non-soldered connections, resultant chemical reduction in insulating medium strength, and corona-induced treeing in and on the insulating media, particularly a t the edges of the capacitor sections. These points are all illustrated schematically in Figure 18. Arcing a t tabs or between stacked, pressure-contacted sections can be eliminated with soldering, metalizing, or cold-flow eutectic bonding. These are listed in order of increasing cost, but will eliminate gas formation and arcdrop heating, particularly a t high prr. There is absolutely no rationale today, with available extended foil designs, for utilization of inserted t a b constructions in very high peak current or/and high prr energy discharge capacitors where high reliability is desired [6]. Void ionization and impurity migration under the influence of the external electric field can be minimized through the use of high-quality insulating media and the elimination of the lossy paper wick. This wick is retained in many film capacitor designs because of its very effective fluid-wicking properties, making impregnation of the capacitor faster and thus far less expensive (implementation of impregnation-while-winding procedures would eliminate this problem of the wick, but require substantial modifications to existing winding machinery). There are several new classes of low-loss silicone impregnating fluids that might be very good permittivity matches a t higher frequencies. These, in conjunction with several of the new proprietary fluids, could be combined with the above winding technique to eliminate almost completely the possibility of corona damage from discharges in voids between insulating sheets or between edges of the insulating film media and the electrode(s) [6-8,111. Unless the submerged-in-impregnant winding be done at a n elevated temperature, voids could develop by subsequent sorption of the impregnant a t elevated temperatures. Corona cannot be avoided in many applications which call for exposure to high overvoltages [3,41,69]. Note that normally, several thin (< 1 t o z 100 pm) layers of insulating media are used rather than one thick sheet, because the former results in much higher breakdown fields; thicker sheets have a much higher percentage of imperfections, inclusions, and small voids giving rise to lower breakdown field behavior. This is a technological limitation that could likely be overcome a t some considerable cost [6].
ODE
Figure 18.
Schematic representation of the principle electrochemical and electrophysical factors affecting capacitor lifetime.
The only problem remaining is that of surface tracking a t the edge of the insulation as sketched in Figure 18. Charlie Martin a t Aldermaston has developed a straightforward way of grading edges; namely, cover them with blotting paper impregnated with a dilute solution of copper sulfate in water. Having tried this technique on numerous occasions, it can be confirmed that it is very effective indeed. What the paper does is reduce the concentration of the electric field at the interface of the electrode edge and insulating medium, essentially by providing a resistor-like layer from the electrode out to the edge of the dielectric. The results are dramatic, and stresses of much higher values than in commercial capacitors (which generally operate at 40 to 80 V/pm) are achievable. The difficulty with this technique is that such resistive graded systems must be pulse-charged because of the dc resistance of the copper sulfate solution shunting the capacitor. Thus, some form of resistive grading will be necessary to minimize this effect, and this must be tempered by the increase in the loss factor that might follow, causing more power loss inside the capacitor. When the user experiences failures in a pilot-run of capacitors, the above notes may provide assistance in identifying the problem areas and allow working with the supplier to rectify the problem. It is a general observation that larger size and very long lifetime are currently directly related [7,20-23,401. The internal material cost is a relatively smaller portion of the price compared to the labor to make a unit very compact, often with special high-stress headers. Unless space constraints dominate, it is in the interest of reliability to allow the manufacturer to recommend a capacitor volume for the specific application. Often, the volume ratios of different suppliers capacitors provide a clue t o the design margins each is using. For example, should all suppliers utilize
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paper wicking, then the cost per unit capacitor volume is

a good selection factor to be included in the assessment of
300
each potential supplier. Combining this with given stress levels in each, the methods of electrical connection, and the mechanical package pressure control upon the capacitor packs provides most of the factors needed to make a cost-effective choice [8,20]. In dc and ac service, capacitor lifetimes of 30 to 40 design years have been achieved in the ac power industry and dc filter applications. These have been obtained in most cases by using highly purified impregnating fluids (e.g., PCB, silicone and mineral oils) with stabilizing additives; the capacitor was vacuum baked, dried, and then fluid impregnated at an exceptionally low moisture level [26-30,631. All these units originally used Kraft paper for historical reasons. The fluid-impregnated capacitor is hermetically sealed, and might include a bellows or other thermal expansion device. In Figure 19 is a curve of the internal impulse strength against years for this type of long-life design, compared to a typical short-life design representative of what might be expected from a dc or ac filter or coupling capacitor for commercial services [63]. The differences are mainly in the electrical stress levels in the insulating media. The long-life design might well operate below 12 V/pm, and the short-life design might be in the neighborhood of 80 V/pm. The base insulation level (BIL) is the unity probability of failure impulse strength level of the capacitor, and all units must meet this standard after 30 t o 40 years of service (at the end of life). In the case of film capacitors in the same duty, similar and in some cases superior, [7,36,38] lifetimes are likely, based upon accelerated life tests [40]. A real advantage of all-film units is their very much lower power losses a t higher frequencies, and higher dc insulation resistances; both of these factors serve to reduce internal heating and, along with reduced corona currents, enhance life and reliability [7, 111. The question of lifetime of capacitors must be addressed. Up to now, the discussion centered about capacitor parameters in general, with some notes on points of interest for pulse capacitors interjected where they related to the parameters under discussion. Subsequent Sections will review the characteristics of discharge circuits having ideal switches and various types of loads. It is assumed that the discharge loop can be described by some lumped inductance and that the discharge switch closes instantly. Although this is most clearly a gross oversimplification of the true state of affairs, it will serve to illustrate some of the salient features of the circuitry and of the currents and voltages the capacitor will likely see [6,8,9,19,25].
200
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10
20
TIME
30
40
50
YEARS
Figure 19.
Single-shot impulse strength as a function of time, for very long lifetime capacitors designed for 60 H z ac power distribution duty.
TAB CONNECTION
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,I\
SELF-CANCELLING FIELDS
Figure 20.
Tab connections illustrating a novel self-field canceling approach used in creating the ultra lowinductance (15 to 60 nH) series S plastic cased capacitors [a].
FIXED ENERGY STORAGE CAPACITOR IMPULSE PERFORMANCE FACTORS

Table 4 illustrates the types of high-power pulse-discharge capacitors that would be normally utilized over the frequency range from dc t o nominally 10 MHz. In addition, rep-rated energy storage capacitors for opera300 ps are tion over discharge periods from 50 ns to also included [7].
H IG H-STAB IL l T Y CAPACITORS
These capacitors, referred to as high stability types, are normally used in circuitry requiring very small variations in capacitance with temperature, voltage, frequency, life and changing external environment. Tolerances to
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better than f 0 . 1% and comparable stabilities are available, although a t considerable cost, to have this degree of capacitance stability over the full range of the above parameters. Indeed, specific formulations, such as for example NPO ceramics are chosen for a particular closetolerance of temperature and voltage stability [6]. Capacitors in the stable category include both plate and reconstituted mica, polymer films such as polystyrene and polypropylene, ceramics and glasses. For specific capacitance ranges one type of capacitor may be more readily available than another, limited primarily by manufacturability and demand. Maximum non-simultaneous parameters up to 5 kV, capacitance stabilities to 20 ppm/'C or 5 ppm/V, and values from 1 pF 100 p F span the known spectrum of commercial units. Capacitors in this class are selected also for very accurate timing applications because of their very high insulation resistance, as well as for use in high-stability passive frequency filtering networks. They are not commonly utilized for energy discharge application or in high-power, multikilowatt ac power duty [19]. They are available with failure rates S < 0.001% and are generally available to meet all use-applicable MIL specifications, often increasing their costs rather substantially over equivalent commercial class units when these specifications must be met simultaneously.
- -
- -
f 5 0 % ) t o a garanteed minimum value (GMV), temperature sensitivity and variation of capacitance with voltage and frequency. Their main application is in areas demanding large values of capacitance for bypass applications, yet maintaining a small unit volume, a property unique t o these particular technologies. For such applications, GMV of capacitance and maximum value of ESR a t the design voltage and ripple conditions suffices, if maintained over the operational temperature range of the system. In these applications, the general purpose capacitor offers the highest performance-vs.-cost. When x 1 F capacitances are required for dc filtering applications, the aluminum electrolytic capacitor is the candidate, having long been optimized for computer filtering applications requiring low ESR and long life (> 10 yr).
E M I S U P P R ESSIO N CA PAClTO RS
Feed-through and DIP mount multi-layer (MLC) ceramic capacitors are three-terminal and distributed transmission line (DIP type) devices that are optimized for maximum SRF and minimum ESR, for frequencies to 10 GHz. At medium frequencies, from N 1 kHz to 300 MHz, the three terminal devices referenced (hf-style ceramic and button-mica feed-throughs) are designed to provide very low terminal inductances (- 10 nH), permitting the bypassing t o ground of electromagnetic interference ('rf suppression') at low cost. As current levels increase, as in 60 and 400 Hz power supplies, paper and film dielectric capacitors of 100 pF are normally used, with new MLC ceramic capacitors emerging as far (> l o x ) more compact alternatives a t voltages to a t least 5 kV [9,10,64].
STABLE CAPACITORS
Paper- and plastic-film capacitors listed in Table 4 make up a large part of broadly utilized units in modern applications. They are free of polarity effects and are available in voltages up to a t least 100 kV, capacitances up t o 10 p F a t tolerances from f 5 % through f20%, and specific designs can operate a t temperatures up to 125C. They are generally not qualified for S-level reliability, because a high-stability capacitor would be the first choice for such a requirement. Stable capacitors by definition contain the categories of energy discharge and high power ac types. Since these categories are now emerging with increasing importance in modern high-power electronics, they will be dealt with separately and in more depth in subsequent Sections of this review paper. For low-power applications, stable capacitors are available with capacitances from 1 p F to 30 pF [7-lo].
P RI NT E D/ I NT EG RAT ED C IRC U IT CHIPS

A broad range of miniaturized capacitors is available for filtering, coupling, tuning, energy storage and bypassing of dc power distribution busses in microelectronic circuitry. Chip capacitors are widely used in hybrid microelectronics and are available from single layer (GHz SRF) to large capacitance value, temperature stable multi-layer ceramic (MLC) units to > 100 p F , 500 V and > 100 MHz SRF units [9, lo]. Tantalum chips are also available and were, until recent advances in MLC technology, the only source of high-value chip capacitors for microelectronics. All classes offer reliable performance, very high volumetric efficiency, close capacitance tolerances when needed, -and modest cost [lo]. Temperature-stable, and compensating chips are available in ceramic formulations wherein a known change in capacitance with temperature is needed for specific circuit designs.
GENERAL PURPOSE CAPACITORS

The electrolytic aluminum and tantalum, and the high permittivity (hi-lc) ceramics are in the general purpose category mainly because their material properties tend to force acceptance of broad capacitance tolerances (e.g.,

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885
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EXTENDED EDGE FOIL MARGIN Figure 21.

(> 40 kA) operation [E].
ACTIVE REGION
EDGE EXTENDED MARGIN FOIL
Geometry of an extended foil capacitor section designed specifically for very high peak pulse current
The general purpose MLC and solid electrolytic capacitors are used for coupling and bypass applications in which GMV performance in small volumes is required. Attachments are by soldering for ceramics and pressure bonding for tantalums. Both types are available in multiple unit assemblies in DIP packages for use on printed circuit boards a t frequencies up t o the SRF of the capacitor package (generally 1 to 2000 MHz). Note that the tantalum capacitor, because of the internal chemistry, behaves as a resistor for frequencies above 5 MHz, requiring then far higher values of capacitance to achieve the same ESR as attainable with the MLC ceramic ca2 GHz, only the MLC pacitor. For frequencies up to technology is presently able to provide compact filtering a t large capacitance values [9, IO].
and helping to suppress noise generated in the switch circuitry. It is, in effect, a very large decoupling capacitor. It must have very low ESL capabilities to absorb a very high d V / d t , as well as d I / d t , and a very low ESR t o minimize power loss and subsequent thermal heating. The distance from the primary dc source, as well as the type of capacitor conventionally used in this function (usually electrolytics), can present a very high inductance to the input of the SMPS, The MLC input capacitor, with its excellent low ESL and ESR characteristics, is located then physically close to the switch circuitry. Repetitive peak currents, inherent with the SMPS design, require a high ripple capability, as well as high surge capability.
HIGH-POWER M L C CERAMIC A N D E L EC T R0 LYT I C CA PACI T 0 RS F O R S W I T C H - M O D E POWER SUPPLIES

High-speed switch-mode power supplies (SMPS) place substantial demands on the capacitors used in the input or output filters of resonant dc/dc or pulse-widthmodulated dc/dc converters. High-power multilayer ceramic (MLC) capacitors have recently been developed for these next generation higher switching frequency (0.1 t o 100 MHz) applications [9,10,64]. These capacitors have been extensively tested and characterized and found t o have almost ideal performances to meet the stringent requirements of these applications.
O U T P U T FILTER CAPACITORS
There are two requirements for SMPS output filter capacitors. They must present a low impedance path for the ac element and they must act as a current source to the load during the off-time of the series pass or rectifier element. These requirements mean a near perfect capacitor (i.e., very low ESR and ESL) is necessary. Theoretical capacitance values required for SMPS output filtering are in the range of 6 t o 10 mF/A a t 40 kHz, decreasing t o < 1 mF/A a t 1 MHz [9]. As a result, both size and cost reductions can be achieved a t higher frequencies, and this is the direction the SMPS industry is moving. These higher frequencies are better suited to MLC capacitors since near-ideal designs can yield very low ESR and ESL. ESR values < 10 m a are available with some of these designs. Extremely low values of ESR mean low ripple voltage and little self-heating of the capacitor. In addition, the ESL for the same design is < 1 nH [9,lo]. Output noise spikes are dramatically reduced with such low filter capacitance self-inductances. Typically, ringing
I N P U T FILTER CAPACITORS
The input filter capacitor is required to perform two functions: to supply an unrestricted burst of current t o the SMPS switch circuitry without generating any noise,
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out of noise spikes with these new pF 50 to 600 V class, MLC capacitors is in < 10 ns (100 MHz) [6,9,44].
INNER FOIL
OTHER M L C CAPACITORS FOR S M PS A P P L ICAT IO N S

Also available are MHz to GHz bus filter, coupling, decoupling, resonant and snubber capacitors for SMPS applications [lo]. This is important because the capacitor cannot begin to act as a capacitor (current source to load) until the ringing-out time (i.e., overcoming the inductance) is complete. The low ESR allows for an almost instantaneous release of energy at that time. In Table 5 , the various failure modes of ceramic capacitors are related to the failure mechanism and condition of occurrence.
Figure 23.
Cross-sectional view of the Type C , HV (from 10 to 120 kV), floating-foil heavy-duty energy discharge capacitors (left), and lower voltage (from 1 to 5 kV), single section type (right) [a].
the optimum properties of the capacitor design to the citcuit, also provide stress relief for differences in coefficients of thermal expansion between the MLC capacitor and the P C board [9].
EL ECT R0 LYT ICS FO R SWITCH-MODE POWER SUPPLIES

Electrolytic capacitors are produced in large quantities for switch-mode power supply applications in computers of all sizes, telecommunications equipment, and industrial electronics. Ratings of these capacitors range from 2 /IF to 1 nF, in case sizes from 12 to 76 mm diameter and in lengths from 25 to 219 m m [65]. These single capacitor voltage ratings range from 5 to 400 V d c . The SMPS are generally used to convert 200 to 400 v d c to 5 to 48 v d c power for semiconductor electronic circuits. The power levels are from 25 W to several kW. The operating temperature is near 45"C, with a required life of 5 yr at this temperature [65]. The frequencies involved in the applications range from 10 to 250 kHz [65]. The rated current handling capability is from 3 to > 30 A per capacitor. The ESR of the capacitor and its impedance at the operating frequency are key items in these applications.
Figure 22.
Illustration of novel connections that are part of the new compact 70 KVA, 40 kHa, ac dc capacitor for hf power supplies [7].
Table 6 illustrates the parameters required to characterize commercial MLC ceramic capacitors and Table 7 shows how specific capacitor performance parameters relate to application-driven requirements. MLC output filter capacitors are compatible with surface-mount technology [ 101. These capacitors are available with DIP lead frames for either through-hole or surfacemount assembly. The lead frames, in addition to bringing
The technology described is based on aluminum electrolytic capacitors for dc proof test to temperatures near 105C [65].
M A JO R LI M ITAT IO NS
The present state of the art for a single unit at 20 kHz is as shown in Table 8 [65]. It will be seen from the Table
IEEE Tkansactions on Electrical Insulation
88 7
that the stored energy gravimetric density in J/kg rises very rapidly with the rated voltage, but the current that can be handled by an electrolytic capacitor unit is lower a t 400 v d c than a t 63 Vdc. Thus, there is a trade-off in current handling capability. In addition, the maximum practical case size is smaller a t present a t the 400 Vdc rating than at 63 Vdc. The maximum hot-spot temperature the capacitor system can handle is a major factor in determining the current carrying rating under a given heat removal rating for the capacitor. The ratings in Table 8 are based on natural convection, no conduction, and radiation to a n environment that is a t a standard temperature, usually 85C maximum. The life of the electrolytic capacitor is very strongly
a function of its seal system [65]. Seals for electrolytic
are many circuits for producing dc, ranging from single phase, half-wave rectifier to twelve phase Wye-Delta rectifier. Reactors are often used in combination with the capacitors t o form a smoothing filter [6]. The remaining ripple is expressed a s a percentage of the dc voltage and should be within specified limits, otherwise excessive heating may occur [6]. Such cases should be checked with the manufacturers for suitability and/or rating adjustment. In general the smoothing filters are designed, for circuit reasons, such that the ripple voltages are very low and, therefore, are a minor consideration in the design of the capacitor.
capacitors in the lo-' cm3/s (stp) air leak rate are known [65], but present capacitors on the market are often 100 to lOOOx worse than this rate. Space use will require seals of superior leak rate capability.
TRANSMITTER CAPACITORS
This class of capacitor is designed for combined ac and dc operation a t high powers and frequencies, necessitating high rf current and voltage ratings, very low ESR (i.e., high Q ) , low internal inductance (i.e., the SRF must exceed the maximum desired frequency of operation) and stable capacitance with temperature and voltage [6]. In 10 kV of dc some bypass and coupling applications, are to be sustained. Plate and reconstituted mica, glass, ceramic, and vacuum or gas-filled units are employed in transmitter applications. Glass insulating media and new ceramic formulations have higher SRF and rms current ratings than mica styles, with new ceramics capable of operation up to > 3 MVAR reactive power levels, well beyond any other technology available today, with values to 10 n F available at voltages to 30 kV [47]. The gas- or vacuum-capacitor is used when high stabilities are required a t very high frequencies and HV's, where their compact size and very low internal losses are major assets for operation in the 0.1 to 1 GHz frequency spectrum [561.
Figure 24.
Series M metal-cased energy discharge capacitors for low-inductance, modest prr (< 1 kHz) operation [8].
The circuit performance of the transmitter capacitor is integrally related to mounting topologies and lead connections, as well a s the actual environment used for cooling - be it gas, fluid or the vacuum of space.
dc FILTER
dc Filter capacitors are used in power supply circuits for reducing the ac ripple voltage of the rectifier. There
Figure 25.
Illustrating the broad range available in rectangular, metal-cased high-energy Series C capacitors
PI.
888
dc Filter capacitors are also employed in the power supply for hard tube modulators [6]. The purpose of a hard tube modulator is to repetitively generate a continuously adjustable-width rectangular pulse. Hard tube modulator banks must store many times the energy delivered to the pulse. During the formation of the pulse the bank must look like an infinite-current source to obtain a minimum draw-down in voltage, because excessive draw-down will result in a sloping top of the pulse. The bank rating required will be a function of the operating voltage, the allowable draw-down AV, peak current during the pulse I p k and the pulse width T . If the operating voltage is known, the energy storage capacity can be calculated [6].
acceleration; as a result, failure rates can only be estimated by extrapolation. Field service data can lend support to such estimates [66,67].
ENERGY DISCHARGE CAPACITORS

FORWARD
Figure 26.
Advanced, commercially available plastic- and metal-cased energy discharge capacitors spanning the range of 2 to 50000 J of stored energy, at discharge times > 50 ns, and voltages to 120 kV [6,6].
Filter capacitors of this type are generally used in ambient temperatures from -55 to +85'C and a service life of 1 to 10 yr is common. D F requirements are not severe, except as over-all indicators of quality. Insulation resistance specification limits are often necessary for hightemperature operation t o reduce the current drain on the rectifier. Reliable insulating media systems are available for capacitors that range in rating from 2 t o 120 kV with volumes of 3 to 50 1. Energy densities vary from < 1 to 30 J/kg [8,66-721.
This Section presents a description of the performance of capacitors intended for use in high-power electronics applications requiring an energy store system for the de100 MJ) liverance of high energy pulses (- l J to 50 kHz, depending a t various prr (e.g., 1 pulse/h t o upon the energy/shot levels) [2,6,8,66,67]. Conventionally, the larger of these capacitors have been installed in large banks, 100 MJ, and the requirements are for intense bursts of energy delivered in very short periods 1 ms). Examples of such pulse of time (- 1 p s t o systems would include the power conditioning capacitor banks powering the large solid-state lasers used in the SHIVA and NOVA [26] inertial confinement controlled fusion experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at Livermore, California. At the other end of the application spectrum an example would be the many different single-shot capacitor designs assembled into the complex SCYLLAC [27] magnetic confinement controlled fusion experiments a t Los Alamos National Laboratory a t Los Alamos, New Mexico. In between these examples lies a myriad number of special capacitor designs, a notable example of which is the type of unit which made possible the versatile portable Marx generator pulse power conditioning systems (for voltage-multiplication), commonly used for testing electrical systems t o evaluate the effects produced by a nuclear detonation. New plastic-cased capacitors present a low profile which now permit the construction of 10 MV Marx generators in practical dimensions [8,67].
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ENERGY STORAGE CAPACITOR PERFORMANCE FACTORS
The exact determination of long lifetime and statistical failure rates a t operating stress levels would be an extremely expensive and time consuming procedure. Therefore, life tests must resort to voltage and/or temperature
The energy storage capacitor can be used singly, or with many units in parallel, t o provide short pulses of electrical energy up t o 100 MJ. The electrical energy stored in this type of capacitor of capacitance C is 0.5 C V 2 ,where V is the final voltage across the capacitor a t the end of the charging cycle. Applications for high peak current capability capacitors include particle accelerators, metal forming (Magnaform), laser drivers, and X-ray generators. In these situations, discharges are often highly oscillatory, and voltage reversals up to 90% are not unusual. Flash tubes, some lasers, and numerous welding applications have capacitors discharging into resistors or
889
ERATION
45 kV TYPE C FUR 1 8 0 tfz MODULATOR IN LINEAR ACCELERATOR. DESIGN LIFE I S 10 PULSES,
-__ I kV TYPE M FOR 500 H i ? AIRBORNE LASER APPLiCATION DESIGN LIFE is 108 PULSES.
SATELLITEPOWER CONDITtUNING SYSTEM.
Figure 27.
Range of varied shapes and sizes in several currently available pulse capacitors. Bushings and case geometry are strongly driven by the specific application [a].
other critically damped loads, with longer discharge times and small reversals compared to the previous cases [67].
HISTORY
capacitor requirements of the earliest pulse power conditioning systems were a t least partially satisfied by utilizing the available HV dc filter capacitors [33]. As energy storage components, they worked moderately well, although the energy density a t rated voltage was relatively low ( X 1 J/kg). This class of capacitor had been designed for years of high temperature service, where the pulse power conditioning systems were primarily experimental banks, and would require the units to be energized for relatively short periods of time. Another type of HV capacitor called into high-power electronics service was the commercial ac power factor correction capacitors used by the utility companies [39]. Their ac rating could be easily converted t o a dc value at the commonly used ratio of 1 to 2.5, and surplus units were then readily available
HE
the ac units wasted power in the storage function, since there was no means of eliminating the internal shunt resistors required by the utilities for self discharge in the event of fuse rupture. Both the dc and ac capacitors used tall porcelain insulators, whose studs were connected to the internal capacitive elements by relatively small diameter wire. Not only did this wire size severely limit the peak discharge current, but the length and diameter of the wire contributed a series inductance which seriously increased the pulse rise-time. All in all, it was apparent early on that special design consideration would be necessary before capacitors of the required characteristics could be put into energy discharge service [8]. Another design feature of the dc and ac capacitors described above which limited the performance for heavy duty pulse power conditioning applications, was the type of capacitive element employed. Since extreme value discharge currents were not a requirement of conventional service of these components, the elements could be produced in whatever configuration was the most cost-effective and space efficient [33]. Such a mandate could be satisfied by a simple tab, also called inductive or buried foil, design, as shown in Figure 20. With this method of construction, very HV capacitors could be produced
WI.
Both dc filter and ac power capacitors provided a fair performance as energy storage devices, but had deficiencies when it came to energy discharge [6,33]. In addition,
890
Circuit Ideal Charging Resistor

"e
Load
Switch /
I
ing the current path in the foils across the narrow dimension, and reducing the transit time of the current wave dramatically [6-81. The shortened current path decreased the capacitor foil resistive losses, and the secure solder bond of the extended foils to the heavy copper conductors eliminated the vulnerable tab/foil pressure connection of the t a b type-windings [24-311. Conversion to extended foil capacitive elements was a major step in improving the performance of heavy duty energy storage capacitors. The physical disposition of dielectric and conducting foils for extended foil type windings is shown in Figure 21 [66]. The next logical evolutionary step to improve the performance of pulse capacitors involved the manner in which the stored energy was transferred from the capacitive elements to the external electrodes. The fast discharges (< 1 ps) required a re-evaluation of the current paths in the interconnections, since skin depth was now a factor, and the high currents did not fully penetrate the conductors [6,8,24-661. The type of conductor, often relatively small diameter wire, used in dc and ac commercial capacitors, when soldered into the conventional HV insulator (bushing), presented a long, tortuous path t o the current a t hf, which was, highly inductive, and also often led to open circuits and oil leaks when arc-overs occurred in the solder bond regions of the wire/stud interface [8,66]. In fact, new concepts of energy flow from the interior to the exterior of the capacitor case evolved, as is illustrated in Figure 22 by the novel connections of the new compact 70 KVAR, 40 kHz, ac/dc capacitor for high-power SMPS power supplies [g, IO]. The insulating systems were the last to change, principally because the dominant insulating film system of Kraft paper tissue impregnated with polychlorinated polyphenyl oils was solidly entrenched [8]. Although neglected in the US because of its poor low temperature performance, relatively low permittivity, and classified then as a flammable fluid, castor oil had been found by the British (thence introduced into the US by A. Kolb of MLI) t o provide exemplary life for energy discharge capacitors wherever oscillatory discharge was the normal condition [6,8]. In fact, unlikely as it seemed, the substitution of castor oil for PCB almost guaranteed a n increase in life expectancy of one order of magnitude [27], if the voltage reversal during discharge exceeded 80%. Such service is identified as heavy duty in the lexicon of 'pulse power'. In this context will now be described a number of different types of pulse power capacitors intended for single-shot rapid discharge applications [6,8,66]. .Energy storage capacitors of the heavy duty or oscillatory discharge type represent a n interesting challenge to the capacitor design engineer. The ac power capacitor
Typical Discharge Waveshapes for the Underdamped or Oscillatory Case:
4100H1 n
0
-1OO#-] V, (Voltage Across Capacltor)
I (Dlscharge Current) -
Figure 28. Schematic representation of charging and discharging circuit, (a): for an energy storage capacitor, along with the voltage across the capacitor and current through the capacitor, (b): as a function of time [6]. by simple series connection, with efficient use of body insulation made possible by the buried electrodes [6,8]. Since there had been no necessity for maintaining minimum self inductance, this pad design and arrangement had been very widely used; unfortunately, such a choice limited the performance of this type of unit in applications wherein a very fast discharge of maximum current was required [66,67]. To overcome the limitations of tab-type elements, the capacitor engineers adopted the type of winding employed for hf capacitors, a design called 'extended foil', wherein the foil electrodes were staggered in their position relative to each other to the point that the foil edges projected beyond the insulating material a t opposite edges of the winding [6,33]. Instead of positioning conducting tabs against the foils to make connection, the edge foil projections were soldered directly t o heavy, wide copper strips to carry the current to the capacitor electrodes [8]. This effectively shorted each turn of the individual foils, mak-
891
designer strives to make the insulating media systems internal to the capacitor corona-free throughout their life under all conditions of temperature and pressure, thus assuring that the very long life needed (> 20 yr) is determined by a temperature and stress dependent electrochemical aging process [6,35,58,59]. In designing energy storage capacitors, maximum energy density and minimum inductance for ps-class discharge times dictate designing for operation in the corona region; internal heat30 Hz) is ing from the discharge pulse (up to prr of negligible. Normal ambients of 25 to 40C are specified. The main problem then becomes one of how to minimize the effects of corona in order to reliably achieve the design lifetime (typically 10000 to 100000 shots) [68].
failure [6]. Fault conditions typically are much the same as those associated with heavy duty normal operation [8].
ENERGY DENSITY A N D STRESS ENHANCEMENT

Light duty capacitors conventionally cost less than heavy duty capacitors of the same expected life because they can be operated a t a significantly higher insulation stress, and the energy density is substantially higher [30]. They are usually manufactured with much of the same materials as used for heavy duty units, and have the same care in manufacture, with the same expectancy of reliability, as their more rugged brethren. In appearance they may well be almost identical, and are seldom marked light duty [8,30]. Since the discharge current is relatively small, it follows that the period of discharge is relatively long, so the ESL for some applications may be higher [8]. Also, the ESR is of less importance than it would be for heavy duty, or for high prr capacitors, so the design of the capacitor elements may utilize thinner foils and be either tab type (Figure 20) or extended foil (Figure 21) as long as the rep-rate or fault conditions specified do not mandate the latter [67].
Corona can be defined as a partial ionization or breakdown of the insulation which occurs when the ac field stress exceeds a critical value [5]. The critical partial discharge inception value or corona starting voltage is dependent on many factors, such as geometry, temperature, pressure, frequency, thickness and composition of the insulating medium, as well as its prior history. The presence of gas pockets or voids will reduce the corona starting voltage and increase corona intensity [5,6]. Corona discharges cause decomposition of the impregnant fluid by processes such as ionic bombardment [5]. The chemical nature of the decomposition products has an important bearing on the insulating systems ability to operate in the corona region reliably, over the design life of the capacitor [15,18,19,28,33,36,3840].
TYPES OF WINDINGS
Weight and volume are of lesser importance when light duty capacitors are designed, so the energy density, a factor of major importance, is critical primarily because of cost, and low cost is vital [30]. Light duty capacitors can be provided a t a somewhat lower cost than other types, not only because of higher energy density, but because of the service required. The importance of the procurement specification in keeping costs low will be considered subsequently.
TYPES OF APPLICATION DRIVEN ENERGY DISCHARGE CA PACIT O R S

LIGHT D U T Y PULSE CAPACITORS
DISCHARGE CURRENT A N D VOLTAGE REVERSAL
HEAVY DUTY PULSE CA PAC IT O RS

DESIGN OF HEAVY D U T Y PULSE CA PAClTO RS
HE characteristics of the discharge curve of heavy duty capacitors require that the units be designed to a more rugged standard than those of light duty or high prr [8]. The very heavy peak discharge current, sometimes > 300 kA, demands extremely secure bonds between the elements and the interconnecting straps [6,8], The straps themselves must be as wide as possible to minimize inductance, and also to reduce current density [66, 671. The insulation margins must be wide, and all other
of the capacitor discharge conditions: the relative magnitude of the peak discharge current, and the voltage swing of the discharge. Light duty discharge current is regarded as relatively small, but only when compared with the currents of heavy duty discharge. For example, the service encountered in normal operation of the SHIVA and NOVA capacitor banks [26], noted earlier, is classed as light duty, since the peak discharge current from each capacitor is only 5 kA, and the voltage reversal is < 10%. Instantaneous fault conditions are much different, and the capacitor must be designed to withstand hundreds of such faults during a normal lifetime without
HE term light duty refers primarily to two factors
892
electrical stress enhancement factors must be eliminated as much as possible to reduce the possibility of partial discharges (corona) during operation [6]. The capacitor designer works to the expected peak-to-peak voltage of discharge that arises from voltage reversal across the capacitor, although the capacitor rating may be the same as that for an equivalent light duty unit. In fact, modern capacitors designed for heavy duty operation have an almost predictable mechanism of aging after the small numbers of early random failures are eliminated [6,18,66, 671. Somewhere inside the unit small amounts of partial discharges will begin at points of stress enhancement, usually near the edges of the foil conductors [32,35]. There will be local thermal damage to the insulating materials, and small amounts of gas will develop as a result of the breakdown of the liquid impregnant [67]. The partial discharges will become greater because of the gas, and the condition will soon become runaway, until the local damage finally brings about insulation failure at one of the weak points [5]. In this manner one of the series sections of a capacitive element will be short-circuited, thus overvolting the other series sections, repeating the earlier cycle until the capacitor itself is short-circuited. If the partial discharge activity prevails for a long period of time, sufficient gas may be generated to bulge the sides of the capacitor case, or even explosively rupture the case [68]. In fact, the incipient failure signaled by the bulged case, plus the audible thump during discharge, is a very good warning to shut the system down [67].
an energy storage capacitor is rated for 80% voltage reversal or higher it can be considered a heavy duty unit [B]. It will have extended foil elements, in all probability, and the internal conductors will be designed to maintain peak discharge current densities below acceptable limits [6,7]. The insulating materials will have been chosen to produce minimum gassing, should partial discharges occur. The severe physical stresses imposed by the magnetic forces associated with the fast discharge of very heavy currents [8, 68,691 will have been countered by very rugged internal construction and secure bonding. The external insulators will probably have a low profile and be virtually indestructible, now that heavy cast epoxy bushings have replaced wet process porcelain in most heavy duty applications [8, 26-31]. The metal case walls will be heavier to contain what may be failure-induced gas pressure without rupture [B].
CAPACITIVE ELEMENTS OF SINGLE SHOT PULSE CAPACITORS

TAB TYPE (BURIED FOIL)
General descriptions of the various types of capacitor elements were given earlier in the historical section. Because of the importance of this factor to the performance of the high-energy pulse capacitor it is considered worthwhile to explore the details of several configurations in this Section [B]. In the majority of cases, energy storage capacitors store energy in capacitive elements called pads or windings. With the exception of those employing mica as the insulating material, the elements are wrapped around a cylindrical mandrel and then flattened before assembly into the capacitor case, as shown in Figure 21 [8]. The wrapping consists of two thin conductors, usually aluminum foil, separated by multiple layers of insulating film materials [6]. The number of layers of these materials can
PHYSICAL STRESSES ON CAPACITOR ELEMENTS

As mentioned earlier, the external appearance of a heavy duty energy discharge capacitor may be no different than that of one designed for light duty service [B]. Often the only external indication of such a rating may be the value stamped in the voltage reversal block of the label; however, even though no specific note is made of the fact, if
IEEE llansactions on Electrical Insulation
893
range from 2 t o 7; 2 because pinholes or conducting particles in the film renders windings with a single insulating film a n electrical short circuit, and a 7-layer maximum is practically established by the winding equipment, as well as the fact that there is little to gain by increasing the number of layers of insulating film beyond that value [8]. For a given insulation thickness, the greater the number of layers the thinner the layer thickness and the higher the cost [33]. This cost factor must be weighed against the gains in the reliability obtained as the number of sheets increases. Dry mica is usually wound in the manner just described, but resin impregnated mica is cut into sheets and stacked to make up a pad [67]. Tab windings denote a type of construction in which electrical connection to the conductors is made by placing a flat strip of metal against the conductor and one end of the tab protruding from the end of the winding, and the t a b disposed between the conductor and the adjacent insulating layer [6,8]. There is a pressure contact between tab and foil with nothing holding the t a b in its position except the small amount of friction in the tab/foil and tab/film interfaces. There are many types of tabs, and there can be almost any number of tabs lying on any one conductor (foil). Increasing the number of tabs in a winding serves t o decrease the current loading at each tab edge, reduces the inductance of a winding, decreases the power loss and decreases the wave transit time in the element [8,24]. There are several methods for reducing the tab/foil contact resistance, thus diminishing the effect of burrs on tab edges resulting from tab cutting. The earliest practice was to wrap each t a b with thin aluminum foil, but this was expensive in terms of labor, and created local physical perturbations which destroyed the symmetry of the winding. Modern practice is to spot-weld thin aluminum flags to the t a b ends, which then lie against the foil, with possibly one turn of foil wrap to protect the insulation against weld burrs. Tabs are seldom slit from sheet copper or aluminum because of the edge burrs created, but are customarily made from tinned copper wire rolled flat. In this manner the only burrs likely t o appear will be located a t the die-cut ends [8]. Reference t o Figure 20 illustrates how the tabs are laid into the winding, and shows how the path of discharge currents can be controlled for lowest resistive loss and minimum transit time [8,24]. The current distribution in the conductor foils, however, is not uniform across the narrow dimension, but tends to concentrate a t the foil and t a b edge where the t a b exits the winding [24]. Also, the idealized disposition of the foils is to be accurately aligned, but this is seldom possible over the full length of
the winding. At areas of misalignment of the foil edges there is a significant electrical stress enhancement [32], a condition which reduces the CIV (corona inception voltage) and shortens the capacitor life. Another life-limiting factor is the local heating a t the t a b edge where the current concentrates, and this area is another location contributing to an early failure [8,33]. Depending on the type and construction of tabs, the maximum current usually recommended for light duty pulse capacitors is 5 to 10 kA [8]. The stress enhancement brought about by foil edge variations in alignment can be mitigated by increasing the foil edge radius [2]. Different methods have been tried for more than twenty years, from electrochemical etching of the foil edge to subjecting the edges to a n electrical arc and counting on surface tension to round the edge [21]. In the foil inductor industry, where the foil used is very heavy, e.g. 200 to 250 pm, they have successfully edgecut a desirable contour, but we must note that the foils in use as conductors in capacitors are normally 2 to 10 p m thick, and the edge cuts have many burrs [8], The modern practice is t o roll and fold the foil edge over [32, 58-61], thus doubling the theoretical radius, improving the life situation much more than a factor of two. In fact, the actual significant radius, without folding, has been a fraction of half the foil thickness. Since any partial discharges decrease the quality factor Q of the capacitor, reduction of the stress enhancement also increases Q as well as the life; &, in this instance, is the reciprocal of the dissipation factor [6]. Tab type pulse duty capacitors have many applications in pulse power conditioning service, despite the noted limitations. A significant advantage of this type of design is the high volumetric efficiency, which not only reduces cost, but is particularly evident as the voltage rating increases, and thus contributes to higher energy density P61.
EXTENDED FOIL WINDINGS

To reduce the discharge time period, increase the peak discharge current, and t o cut down on capacitor losses, it is customary to build heavy-duty as well as some types of high-reversal light-duty capacitors with extended foil windings. At relatively low frequencies, all three objectives are accomplished, and the penalties are quite modest: The volume efficiency is less than that for an equivalent t a b type design, but this becomes a factor only for voltage ratings beyond 10 t o 15 kV,values beyond which series sections may be required, and floating foils are
894
Sarjeent : Capacitors
10
10
10.
.
0
20
.
40
80
.
100
60
VUTAGE FIMRSAL ACROSS CAPAclTCR
-K
Figure 30. Series C capacitor life factor vs. % voltage reversal, showing the precipitous loss in life for reversals above 60% ([6-81).
The most apparent difference between tab and extended foil windings is the manner in which electrical connection is made to the pads [6,8,66]. Where tab windings are normally assembled, stacked and then the tab ends are soldered or welded together, the extended foil pads do not have tabs, so the extended foils are soldered (i.e., solder-swaged together), a fairly difficult task to accomplish reliably [8,66]. An alternative practice is to swage the foil ends with silver-loaded epoxy resin, but this route has been successful only on relatively small, specialized units [34]. Whatever the manner of swaging the foil ends, it is important that the connection be made to each foil turn, lest heavy current discharge cause arcing in the pad ends, and early catastrophic failure. Such arcing actually has been seen to blow the heavy solder swaging off the end of the pad. Properly solder swaged, the bond to the foil ends is very strong, and this factor is rarely a lifelimiting one in modern heavy duty pulse capacitors [66, 671. Since the current penetration of the heavy solder at the ends of extended foil windings is minimal at hf, the current path out of such pads is complicated, and certainly not the idealized short path across the narrow foil dimensions. Frequencies >> 50 kHz reveal a Q value of the capacitor far below the design value, a fact attributed to increased conductor resistive losses, although possibly exacerbated by partial discharges at any highly stressed foil edges [67]. Despite the apparent disadvantages of both of the types of windings, each have their place where they are employed to advantage. In energy storage electrolytics, for example, one foil may be extended and the other one tabbed [65].
40
60
80
100
I20
140
pERco.TT OF RATED DC CHARGE V U T A G E
Figure 31. Series C capacitor life factor vs. % rated dc charge voltage ([&a]). created [6,8]. This configuration is illustrated in Figures 21 and 23. Where minimum inductance is necessary, it is customary to divide up a winding into many series sections, thus creating floating foils, with the attendant double voltage margins [6,8]. Not only does this create a high ratio of margin/active area, with the margins not contributing to the energy content, but the stress enhancement resulting from the staggered foils is severe [32,58]. Also, where high prr are required, the free foils present a significant problem in heat transfer from the interior of the windings [2,8,19,34,36,69]. The alternative to the use of floating foils in extended foil windings is to series connect the windings, creating problems of assembly, and a n increase in inductance, that are difficult to circumvent; however, heavy duty pulse discharge is presently seldom at high prr (i.e., >> 10 He) [6]. A compromise is usually the design path adopted by the capacitor engineer, where floating foil windings are combined in series-parallel pad connections [27,41].
M ETA L IZ ED CA PAC IT 0RS

Another type of tabless winding occasionally provided for light duty energy storage pulse capacitors uses vapor metalized insulating material rather than film/foil. Besides the obvious advantage of weight and volume economy from the elimination of the foil conductors, under proper operating conditions the metalized capacitors normally do not suffer catastrophic failure in the event of an insulation puncture. The thickness of metalization is held to close tolerances, so that the arc-through generates sufficient local heat to vaporize the metal in the vicinity of the fault, and clears just sufficient area to provide a metalfree margin adequate to hold off the applied voltage. Such a capacitor can sustain hundreds of arc-throughs of this type with only a small decease in capacitance, a relatively small increase in insulating media loss, and a modest increase in leakage current, The potential for high energy
I-
895
100.
5 g 3
3
3
lo-' r
1 0 '
. , .
'
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discharging another capacitor of just the proper energy into the fault defined by the particle, clearing the metalization on the film that connects t o these particles. Some manufacturers use carefully controlled alternating current for clearing. At the same time, the clearing operation is completed on the cut ends of the metalized material. Capacitor winding machines are now available to burn off metalization from ends of metalized film so that clearing a cut metalized film end is not needed. This weakness then is virtually eliminated, as well as deleterious over-
2 . 0 0
is the main function of the clearing process. In this way, metalized film capacitors permit using a single layer of insulation between electrodes. The Achilles' heel of metalized capacitors, a t least for heavy duty service, is the relatively weak contact of the end-sprayed solder to the edge metalization. Very heavy discharge currents destroy this bond, and failure ensues. It is common practice t o vapor deposit a much heavier metal thickness on the metal edge opposite the margin edge t o help strengthen this bond, and this will indeed help [67]. It is also helpful to metalize in a pattern that attempts to control the amount of energy instantaneously delivered to a fault, but a design of this type significantly increases the cost. If high energy density under heavy duty conditions is required it is usually necessary to use conventional solid foil capacitors [8].
CAPACITOR DISC-I,ARGE
TVvE N SEC0N)S
Figure 33. Series C capacitor life multiplication factor vs. capacitor discharge time in s. Note that subps single-current cycle discharge times generally mean high circuit Q, and hence yielding actual discharge waveforms similar to those illustrated in Figure 28 ([6-81).
INSULATION SYSTEMS FOR SINGLE S H O T PULSE CAPACITORS

I NS U LAT I NG S 0 L I DS
Tabs cannot be used to contact the metalization, for local heating a t the t a b edge would rapidly vaporize the metalization a t those points, and open circuits would occur [66]. Normal practice in the manufacture of a metalized capacitor means establishing a heavy (generally sprayed) solder deposition over the ends of the windings, the metalized layers are slightly staggered in the winding setup to facilitate contact to the solder [66,67]. If the solder is carefully sprayed a t just the proper angle a n even coating covers the ends, and contact is made to the
A broad range of characteristics of solid insulating materials is available t o the capacitor design engineer (Table 1). Despite the great variety available, experience has established certain favorites for specific types of service [6, 81. Single-shot pulse capacitors of high energy density can be produced using almost any of the insulating materials shown, but the exigencies of cost, performance a t maximum stress, and availability, decide in favor of one of two
896
different systems [66,67]. Probably the most effective system for both light and heavy duty operation is the combination of high-density Kraft paper tissue impregnated with castor oil [8,26]. If there is a disadvantage to the choice of this system, in preference to the other successful combination of Kraft tissue and polypropylene film impregnated with one of the DOP liquids [37,58-621, it is in the matter of cost, and this factor is heavily weighted by both the capacitor manufacturer and the user. Dramatic progress continues to be made in increasing pulse capacitor energy density spanning the last twenty-five years, largely due to improvements in the quality of insulating materials [27,37,58]. Energy densities in commercially available capacitors have improved from only a 2 J/kg in the 1950's to > 300 J/kg today for commercially available polymer film, electrolytic and multi-layer ceramic capacitors. There are other factors involved, of course, which will further improve energy density and reliability; such as, new precision winding machines, a shift to folded foil edges, better test and diagnostic equipment, and improved manufacturing procedures [66]. Summary Tables 9 and 10 illustrate recent progress and the broad spectrum of paper/polymer film capacitors available today [6,8,66].
Unlike large commercial power factor capacitors, which have self-discharge resistors installed inside the case, energy storage capacitors cannot be so fitted, because of the intolerable dc current leakage [8]. Even 50 kJ energy storage capacitors rely on a copper wire short circuit across the top of the terminations to make them harmless during shipping and storage.
1
p
CAPACITOR DISCHARGE TIME 'T'
1'
' T '
TI=
- IN WITS OF DISCHARGE TIME
Figure 34.
Capacitor discharge current and voltage as a function of discharge time for a high Q cirquit. Solid line: current, dotted line: voltage.
Both of the favored capacitor insulation systems have frailties, as one might imagine. Castor oil, for example, serves poorly a t temperatures < -1O'C [6,11], particularly under voltage reversal conditions, the very conditions where it displays superiority at higher temperatures [8]. DOP is flammable to a greater degree than castor oil, although both liquids have a fire point [8]. The flash point of DOP can be anywhere from 140 to 200'C, depending on the variety, while castor oil presents a value of 290'C. DOP does not appear to be bothered by low temperatures down to -4O'C, and both oils have excellent corona resistance, as does MIPB, monoisopropyl biphenyl, another proven high-quality fluid impregnant for use with paper/plastic insulating materials [6,8]. Neither of the two insulating systems described above are satisfactory in locations where 7-irradiation may be a factor, because of the paper involved. Although there have been no large capacitor banks installed where such a condition was a factor, it is likely that a solid combination of presently available Mylar film and reconstituted mica, impregnated with MIPB, would be a logical choice, albeit relatively expensive. All three materials have proved to be radiation resistant beyond 10' Rad [33,34]. By far the majority of single shot, high energy density capacitors are housed in rectangular metal cases, and are of relatively large [8]. Typical weights range from 65 to 115 kg, and they are lethal instruments when charged.
(0
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F E W Y
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Figure 35.
Series S capacitor ESR as a function of ac frequency Note that the actual pulse-discharge energy losses are also a function of peak discharge current ([S-81).
The mechanical case shape factor of energy storage capacitors is important for several reasons; one important reason is the one of cost. It is far less expensive to manufacture a rectangular shape than a cylindrical shape, 100 MJ are beand cost is a dominant factor when ing installed. The rectangular shape does mean that the insulation system cannot be operated at any significant positive pressure, because the large flat sides will not contain the pressure without distortion; this is a reason why
897
the well known advantages of insulating medium pressurization cannot be utilized in such units [8]. On the positive side, a rectangular case can be designed so that the walls act as a pressure compensating device. This is particularly useful where the capacitor may operate a t elevated temperatures. Due to the relatively large thermal coefficient of expansion of some of the impregnating fluids used, pressures can develop that would rupture insulatorto-case as well as other seals with rigid cans. Cylindrical energy storage capacitors can be pressurized internally, if fitted with a bellows, but at a cost increase [36]. In lower cost cylindrical capacitors, some manufacturers employ the dubious practice of pouring out some of the impregnating fluid before sealing the capacitor, thus creating a void to allow for oil expansion.
current obtainable, and provided yet another factor contributing t o the overall high inductance. Although considered very efficient electrical components by the standards of forty-odd years ago, the materials of that period left opportunities for improvement [5,6]. Many of the pulse-forming networks used in applications other than radar modulators were physically much smaller, and it was usual practice to incorporate the section coil as a part of the capacitor [6]. This, of course, was efficient in terms of utilization of space, and provided excellent insulation for the coil, but the practice did increase the debilitating heat in the capacitor insulation system, and further limited the prr as well as providing another concern for internal insulation [4-61.
EVOLUTION OF HIGH REPETITION RATE PULSE CA PACI T0R S

HARD TUBE MODULATOR CA PAC I T 0 RS
the earliest capacitors designed specifically for high prr power conditioning service were intended for use in the pulse forming networks of the hard tube modulators in the early radar systems of World War I1 [2,6]. Such capacitors, no doubt, were necessarily adaptations of the familiar HV dc filter capacitors used in the power conditioning systems of that day, and were oversized, compared to state-of-the-art capacitors in use today. Although limited in capability, because of the nature of the materials employed in the insulation systems of that period, these early capacitors provided reliable service, and their comparatively low energy density (< 1 J/kg) mattered little, since the radar systems then were land based, where size was not important [6].
LASER CAPACITOR REQUIREMENTS

As lasers continue to become far more than merely laboratory curiosities, the critical need for superior capacitors becomes evident [6]. Superior, that is, in terms of energy density, because these lasers are often airborne, and also in regard t o inductance, as faster and faster risetimes are required [5-81. Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, excimer, copper vapor as well as dye lasers operate a t a prr between 10 and 50000 Hs, and the thermal characteristics of contemporary capacitors were being quickly exceeded [6]. The huge modulators used with hydrogen thyratrons in the various types of particle accelerators were operating a t higher and higher pulse rates, and, again, the thermal characteristics of the capacitors were unsuitable. Experiments in isotope separation by means of dye lasers were demanding longer and longer lifetimes of the capacitors being operated a t 500 to 1000 Ha, with commercial reliability expected. All applications for fast pulse capacitors were in need of high energy transfer efficiency [7, 191.
ERHAPS
DESIGN LIMITATIONS OF EARLY CA PAC IT0 RS

There were other features of the early pulse forming network capacitors that limited their capabilities, in addition t o the insulation systems used a t that time. The pulse forming network voltages were relatively high, and that meant formidable insulators were required for the metal-cased structures [e]. The long porcelain bushings provided adequate insulation against voltage arc-over , but the manner in which the current was conducted through the bushings resulted in series inductance values which limited the pulse rise-times of the networks. Also the design of the capacitive elements, i.e. the capacitor pads, was another limiting factor in the magnitude of discharge
EFFECT OF COMMERCIAL CAPACITOR RESEARCH

The fundamental base for research and development work is still the area where most of the investment money needs t o reside. R&D has t o pay for itself quickly, and, other than war, funds for this purpose, for the most part, have come from industry. Industrial production places great demands on the distribution of electrical power, and the electrical power generation and distribution industry uses more capacitors than all other applications cumbined. The use of capacitors t o improve the power factor of the electrical ac power distribution system is an economic factor of truly formidable importance, and has
898
Sarjeant : Capacitors
been the root of most of the early important developments in capacitors [37,39].
COMMERCIAL POWER FACTOR ADVANCES

The major technological developments in large ac and pulse capacitor evolution have been
1. Kraft paper tissue development. 2. Introduction of polychlorinated polyphenyl impregnants 3. Improvements in electrical quality of capacitor tissue. 4. Development of capacitor grade polymer films. 5. Substitution of biodegradable impregnants for PCB.
1 0 '
1 0 '
CHARGUDISU-IARGE REP-RATE
ERTZ
Figure 36.
Series S capacitor maximum recommended reprated operating conditions for discharge times from 1 to 10 ,us ([S-61).
IMPROVEMENTS IN CAPACITOR PLASTIC FILM

The single most dramatic improvement in capacitor performance came from the introduction of capacitorgrade polypropylene film, first in combination with high quality capacitor paper tissue; a substitution which effectively doubled the energy transfer capability of ac power factor capacitors. This provided compound economic benefits to the electrical power industry, since the net reduction in the capacitor power factor increased the efficiency of the distribution system while reducing the number of capacitors for a given degree of system power factor improvement [39]. The resultant substantial reduction in power loss in the capacitors permitted many of the capacitor installations to be made underground, so the environment benefitted as well. In addition, it should be noted that reduced electrical losses with all-film capacitors offered a n economic advantage because of the power savings.
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
pERcENT
OF N A M R A T E RATED
DC VCCTAGE
Figure 37.
Series S capacitor life factor as a function of the % rated dc nameplate voltage ([6-6]).
INTRODUCTION O F N E W IMPREGNANTS
The substitution of the many versions of new impregnants, such as dioctylphtalate (DOP), for PCB has not. been an unmitigated blessing, although the benefits to the environment are most clear. Most of the impregnants replacing POB for power capacitors are based on the structure of a molecule consisting of two phenyls and one or two short aliphatic groups, e.g. isopropylbiphenyl. DOP has been used in small lamp ballast type capacitors, and its molecular structure is not related to current power capacitor impregnants. The fire resistance of almost every acceptable capacitor impregnant used today may well be a matter of considerable concern.
As is often the case, significant improvement in one field of endeavor usually spreads t o other areas as well. This is certainly the case in regard to the introduction of low loss, high breakdown strength polypropylene film for capacitors [6, 8,361. Although there have been high quality plastic films used as capacitor insulating materials for many years, one factor or another prevented widespread use and volume availability. Cost was a very significant reason, especially for several types of film such as polysulfone, which offered a reasonably high permittivity, 40% higher than polypropylene, plus better heat resistance. Polycarbonate film, which also can be compared favorably to polypropylene film, appears to be even superior [34]. In any event, the widespread use of low-loss insulating materials has been a dominant factor in the evolution of high prr capacitors [7].
.-. . .
8QQ
NECESSITY FOR INTEGRATION OF ALL DESIGN FACTORS

The availability of suitable thin film (i.e., < 5 p m ) insulating materials did not flood the market with superior performance capacitors, because capacitor design is not the simple arithmetic summation of the component materials [6,8]. Initially, with the advent of new factors, such as materials, the inevitable shortcomings need be discovered, the favorable qualities quantified, and the blending with other necessary constituents determined. Mechanical factors associated with charging and discharging in much shorter time periods than customary present problems to be overcome, and the results of this effort will be determined empirically, a very time and funds consuming procedure. Some of the design problems involved with the development of high prr capacitors will be considered in the next Section [6,7,38,40,49-55,66,67].
case surfaces, after the energy reaches an area of the capacitor where convection currents in the impregnant can move the heat outward to the case walls [66].
HEAT TRANSFER
.Experiments have shown the effect of surface radiation from the external case surfaces on the internal temperature of the capacitor elements [8]. The nature of the surface finish of the internal case material apparently affects the heat transfer to an unimportant degree, but a dark, rough external surface benefits heat radiation as long as the capacitor case surface is a t a higher temperature than the environment. Tests made on capacitors under carefully controlled conditions show that the type and color of surface finish can be the difference between long life and early thermal runaway [67].
0 PERAT1N G VOLTAGE
The operating voltage of high prr capacitors depends on the application. Current applications in hard tube modulators, particle accelerators, laser drivers, etc. range from 10 to 120 kvd,. The effect of voltage on capacitor design is principally evident in the choice of bushing insulator, and its effect on thermal transfer and energy density, since HV insulators are relatively heavy, and necessarily large. Also, modern applications tend to critically need low capacitor inductance [6,40,41], and the huge porcelain insulators employed with metal cased capacitors give unacceptably high ESL for fast discharge applications [8]. The answer, of course, is elimination of these undesirable elements, and a change in design to insulating cases, with resultant dramatic benefits of significantly reduced inductance, increased energy density and improved efficiency [6,8]. Insulating cases present technology challenges with reliable hermetic sealing (essential with low viscosity liquid impregnants), and a more difficult problem of thermal control [8].
THE DESIGN OF HIGH REPETITION RATE PULSE CA PACI T O RS

T H E R M A L PROBLEMS
HE prr affects the capacitor design principally in regard to considerations of loss of energy in the capacitor, and the resultant thermal problems. Not only does the energy loss degrade the efficiency of the pulse power system, but the increase in temperature of the active elements of the capacitor accelerates chemical degradation of the insulating materials and reduces the life expectancy [6].
INSULATION A N D CONDUCTOR LOSS

There are two principal sources of energy loss in a capacitor: insulating media loss and resistive losses in the internal conductors. The prr primarily affects this loss generation in the heat transfer mechanism of the design. Remembering that the insulating materials are good thermal insulators as well, it becomes evident that transfer of heat from the capacitive elements will be inefficient laterally [2]. The capacitor conductors are normally aluminum foil, good heat conductors, so that the heat will move out of the pads to end locations where the heavy interpad conductors, usually tin coated copper, can transfer the heat to the external electrodes [8]. The liquid impregnant used serves as thermal transfer medium from the pads to the
SIGN IFICA N T F REQ U EN CY

The significant frequency characteristics of operation of the high prr capacitor affects the capacitor design in several ways [8]. The frequency is established by the capacitor discharge time period, the pulse current risetime of the pulse forming network (PFN), and the different rise-times for each capacitor of the network [6]. There is usually less than 25% voltage reversal on any capacitor, so the frequency of operation is a matter of concern to the capacitor designer primarily because of the frequency coefficient of insulating media power loss, the frequency
DO0
coefficient of skin depth in the conductors, its effect on the resistive losses, and the limitation on pulse rise-time imposed by the capacitor inductance [66]. The effect of frequency on the partial discharges in highly stressed capacitors is not inconsequential [6]. Data exists which show that corona inception and extinction voltages, CIV and CEV, are reduced by a t least 50% a t high frequencies in respect to the low frequency 60 Hz values [19]. Furthermore, in the paper by A. I. Bennett it was shown that the partial discharge pattern in a void is the same a t 60, 420 and 1440 Hz [78]. Also, it should be noted that partial discharge degradation is accelerated with frequency, assuming that the intensity is the same over the frequency range, or does not decrease proportionally with frequency.
Minimizing the inductance is a constant challenge to the capacitor designer, and the problems increase as the voltage rating and application prr become greater.
CAPACITOR ENERGY LOSSES

Capacitor losses, for purposes having to do with the pulse power conditioning system evaluation, can be lumped as the ESR shown in the capacitor equivalent circuit of Figure 11. As related earlier, the magnitude of the ESR depends upon the power losses of the solid and liquid insulating materials, due t o molecular friction, and the resistance of the conductors, both factors being frequency and temperature dependent [6]. In addition, a t high interelectrode voltages (> 5 kV), characteristic of high stored energy density, at > 1kHz prr operation, partial electrical discharges may occur, which not only dissipate significant power in local dielectric areas adjacent to the high stress enhancement points (the foil edges), but are also seriously life-limiting [40].
CAPACITOR INDUCTANCE
Capacitor inductance is the ESL of the component, and affects the capacitor performance in a manner detrimental to the system in many instances [6]. Inductance is the major factor in the choice of insulating case designs, as noted earlier, and is the most important reason for selecting low profile insulators when metal cases are more desirable for thermal control or structural reasons [8,44]. The capacitor pad design, and the deployment of the elements in the case is influenced to a great degree by the inductance requirements [66]. Parallel connection of individual elements (pads) reduces inductance as well as accomplishes a reduction in peak current per pad, but the lower inductance is a major reason for the parallel hook-up. With the exception of so-called stacked capacitors, where the insulation layers are assembled with the conducting layers by stacking individual plates of material, the individual capacitive elements, or pads, can be considered as coaxial capacitors, and the inductance of each element is: d0 L = 20011n(15) di where L is the inductance (nH), do the outside diameter (m), d, the inside diameter (m), and 1 the length (m). The typical high prr capacitor today is one in which each element is rolled from continuous layers of material, and the element may be flattened when assembled in case of a rectangular capacitor, or be completed as a cylindrical unit t o suit the chosen mechanical design [8]. Low inductance can be achieved from either choice, and there are advantages and disadvantages for both constructions [66]. In both cases, however, the effective length of the elements must be held to a minimum, and the ratio of inside to outside diameters must be as close t o unity as possible. The constraint of this endeavor, of course, is the need of finite volume into which to store energy [8].
INS U LAT I N G S0 L IDS

During corona-free operation, the power losses in a capacitor can be predicted from information provided by the manufacturer, or from temperature/frequency loss data empirically derived [8]. The frequency dependent losses in the conductors are not as easily quantified, however, because the current paths in the windings are distorted a t high frequencies. These spiral paths also complicate the inductance determination, and much experimental effort is t o be expended before these anomalies are thoroughly understood and the effects countered [24, 701.
IMPREGNATING FLUIDS
The successful use of low loss plastic films in the insulating systems of high prr capacitors is significantly affected by the fact that some means of partial discharge (PD) suppression must be incorporated in order for the capacitor t o survive for a respectable period of life, be it cumulative pulses (i.e. shots) or hours of operating time [6]. Capacitor catastrophic failure ensues very soon after the onset of partial discharges, and that condition occurs at relatively low electrical stress [lo, 111. In order to be able to operate for long periods at high energy density, the plastic capacitor must be impregnated with a suitable PD-inhibiting material, usually a good quality insulating fluid [2,11,34,70].
For high prr capacitor operation the insulating fluid is critical because partial discharge activity has been found to increase with increasing prr [2]. The ideal impregnant must possess a set of properties which include
901
1. High insulation strength. 2. Low insulation power loss over a wide temperature and frequency range. 3. The ability to impregnate windings completely, i.e. low surface tension and viscosity, and not swell the insulating film. 4. The ability to maintain low levels of partial discharges a t high electrical stresses over the design life. 5. The ability to absorb any resulting gaseous by-products produced by such partial discharges.
high frequencies the Kraft paper tissue (cellulose) is a source of severe power losses and this defines a thermal and efficiency limit t o the prr [8].
Clearly these impregnants should be environmentally compatible. Theoretically, one of the electro-negative gases could provide the electrical strength needed, and would significantly reduce the weight, but the positive gas pressures necessary t o make gas impregnants equal t o liquids present problems of physical confinement beyond the point of diminishing return a t this point in time [54, 711. Another disadvantage to electro-negative gas impregnants, e.g. SFB, is that partial discharges, which cannot be avoided, can generate products which react with and degrade the solid dielectric [54]. The liquid impregnants are the source of some of the capacitor electrical loss, but the contribution to PD-free operation, plus the important function of thermal control make the choice of the liquid one of great importance in capacitor design. The operations of drying and impregnating plastic film capacitors are most critical to quality and reliable performance [8,66-721.
-40
-20
20
40
60
80
-60
OPERATING TElvPERATIRE
-C
Figure 38. Series M capacitance change in % from the value at 3 0 ' C , with temperature ([S-81).
EFFECT O F PARTIAL DISCHARGES

20
40
\
60
80
.
100
Due to the probability or more realistically, the certainty of encountering imperfections in the thin layers of plastic film, it is necessary that a t least two, and preferably more, layers of film appear between conductors [6, 81. Unless the film interface areas are void-free, and that means completely devoid of all gases, partial discharges will occur very early in life, and the capacitor performance will be substandard [2,34]. There are several ways to ensure elimination of voids, of which several are noted.
PAPE R/ P L AST IC F I L M
VOLTAGE REVERSAL ACROSS CAPACITOR
Figure 39.
Series M capacitor life multiplication factor vs. % voltage reversal across the capacitor ([6-81).
For operation at ps-class pulse discharge times and at prr 400 Hz,the interior spaces between insulating films, capacitor sections, and/or conductors can be readily filled with a fluid by interspersing layers of high quality capacitor paper tissue, which can be easily dried and impregnated. The main drawback to this approach is that, a t
<
Plastic films can be surface treated, mechanically and/ or electrically, t o provide a rough surface which then assists degassing and liquid impregnation. This method is successfully used a t the present time, and presents, or all intents and purposes, minimal negative factors regarding electrical quality a t high frequency and repetition rate. It is found best t o obtain a rough surface on the film when it is formed. This is done by creating physically roughened and Hazy polypropylene film, by using a special resin and certain die temperatures. For cast films, use of a casting drum or belt with a controlled rough surface should accomplish this effect. Treating the film after it
902
is formed to roughen its surface could damage its dielectric properties and its electric strength. Such a capacitor must also incorporate an impregnating liquid of low surface tension, low viscosity, high insulation strength, and at least a modest permittivity. Mauldin reported very good results with perfluorocarbon liquids, with the additional benefits of cooling by utilizing the low boiling point of a chosen perfluorocarbon to set up an evaporative cycle within the normal operative temperature range. He also reported significant increases in longevity by loading perfluorocarbon liquids with. electronegative gas [34,36, 40,69,71].
CONTROLLED WINDING
Any thorough, void-free impregnation of all-plastic film insulating film systems is only possible if the winding of the pad is accomplished under careful control of the precise winding tension [14] to produce a relatively loosely wound element shape, since control of the winding tension would be negated if the pad were flattened and pressed tightly in assembly. It is possible to wind on a noncylindrical mandrel, of course, a tactic which has been successful, but such a maneuver complicates the tension control [69].
with sufficient safety factors so that the critical performance limit is seldom encountered during normal service. Such a limit for a high prr capacitor could be the thermal runaway point, where the temperature rise of the unit exceeds linearity, and the capacitor will then catastrophically fail. Some capacitors are underdesigned to the point that this failure condition could conceivably occur under normal operating conditions, which means that the life will be very short indeed. Many electrical insulators, both solid and liquid, have positive temperature coefficients of the DF, which means that the insulation power loss values increase with temperature. If such materials are employed in applications where thermal problems are likely to be encountered they either must be rated a t such low energy density that the capacitors are rarely useful, or the life will be very short. Fortunately, the capacitor designer has plastic films available which are inherently thermally self-stabilizing, in that the temperature coefficient of the DF is negative from room temperature up to a reasonable operating temperature of M B O T , where the curve gradually turns positive [66]. This means, that the power loss is a minimum in the very temperature range where the unit will most likely be operated, and that the temperature of the capacitor stabilizes there or below. Polypropylene is one of these favorably endowed materials [5,17,18,67]. Thermal problems are a major factor in capacitor design for high prr applications. As noted previously, the internal energy loss reduces the efficiency of the pulse power system, while accelerating the demise of the capacitor. To solve the thermal problems, the designer approaches them from two logical directions; first, with the idea of reducing the generation of heat by removing the source of the hf losses, or reduce the amount of loss, then devise novel methods of eliminating the heat from the active areas of the elements in order to minimize the debilitating effects of high temperature on the insulating sys tem. Since a major source of capacitor losses occurs in the insulating materials, both solids and liquids, the compromise choice of lowest power loss a t the significant frequency against the highest insulation strength will be made [6]. This choice is often further compromised by such factors as 1. Cost. 2..Availability of insulating media and conductor thickness values optimum for best energy density and design life. 3, Thermal stability. 4. Chemical compatibility with the most desirable associated material.
ELECT RlCA L STRESS ENHANCEMENT

Being capable of producing void-free capacitor elements permits operating at high stress with a very low loss insulation system; additional control can be exercised by decreasing the electrical stress enhancement a t the foil edges of the windings [2]. Under maximum stress, frequency, and prr, the bulk of the capacitor failures occur at the thin foil edges, through the insulation margins [36, 381. The slit edges of aluminum foil are assumed to be of a radius value half the foil thickness, but, in reality, there are many sharp protrusions, which engender partial discharges [2]. There have been a number of attempts to alleviate this condition, and thus prolong capacitor life [20-251. The most successful of these has been the technique of rolling back the foil edges to present a conductor edge radius without the normal fangs [22,57]. A number of experimenters have accomplished this quite successfully for ac power capacitors, although the practice is not yet widespread for energy discharge [16,22,58].
DESIGN SAFETY FACTORS

In the operation of any component under conditions of extreme stress, it is essential to establish the design
903
This latter consideration can be more important than apparent, because complex interactions often occur to degrade the performance quality unexpectedly [8,66]. Resistive losses in conductors are targets for loss reduction [6]. Conventional rolled windings embody thin aluminum foil as conductors, for low resistance, light weight, low cost, availability in a large variety of thicknesses required for capacitor pads, and excellent heat transfer [8]. By having a knowledge of the application and information such as the significant frequency of operation, the capacitor engineer can optimize winding parameters [3,14, 16,19-281. These parameters include width ratio of the conductor as well as overall conductor length, to reduce resistive losses in the windings. It is important to note that current paths in the windings of a capacitor vary with frequency and a t very high frequencies the pads begin to behave as transmission lines. Aluminum oxide has a high permittivity, which probably helps in grading the stress in a critical area, and the chemical compatibility with the most useful insulating materials is a necessary factor [32-361.
ELECTRODES
Capacitor electrodes, and the associated insulators, if thermal or other considerations dictate the use of metal enclosures, are important items of capacitor design, although often ignored in the preoccupation with the insulation stress and other, influential factors in the constant quest for highest energy density components [6]. Not only can the electrodes contribute to stable thermal conditions during extreme operating service, but careful consideration can do much t o minimize inductance and enhance heat transfer [8]. The acceptance of conventional electrode and bushing designs is no longer adequate to achieve such advanced capacitor designs [67].
CA PAClTO R ENCLOS U RES

By far the most economical enclosure to be used for capacitors is the rectangular mild steel case identified with commercial capacitors. While the rectangular shape is still a reasonable and economical option for use with high prr capacitors, the use of magnetic materials is not generally acceptable, since eddy currents increase the losses and, more importantly can cause overheating [8]. Nonmagnetic stainless steel alloys are acceptable, despite the high electrical resistivity of stainless steel, and may be the best choice overall, where large capacitors are required [38]. Such encasements are particularly satisfactory where the capacitors are incorporated into oil-filled assemblies; however, to minimize losses, much attention must be given to reducing the length of any current paths in the stainless steel surfaces as illustrated in Figures 24 to 26. Where weight is vitally important, and volume as well, molded plastic cases have proven useful. Obviously, the ever-present oil seal problem must be dealt with, but properly designed container interfaces, combined with the use of redundant seals and high quality plastic welding techniques, have overcome much of the difficulty. The use of cylindrical shapes has proven to be more practical with plastic cases than with steel, since no insulators are needed in the case of plastic, as illustrated in Figure 26. There are a few drawbacks to the use of an insulating case a t HV. The capacitor elements are not electrically shielded, and care must be taken to prevent arc-over in installation [6,29]. All plastics have a degree of sensitivity to local pressure, and cold-flow from clamps and hold-down members is a matter for constant attention, particularly a t HV. Metal cases get rid of the ever present heat more readily than do plastic cases, and the cases are far stronger.
INSULATORS - BUSHINGS
P 0 RC E LA IN INS U LATO RS
OR many years pulse capacitors utilized the wet-process porcelain insulators, securing heavy bronze studs, and electrically connected to the active element assembly by thin stranded copper wire [66]. The assemblies were plentiful, relatively inexpensive, and rugged; however, the design incorporated inevitably high inductance as the heavy stud did not contribute as a conductor, and did not provide the necessary short current path a t hf. This concept of what an electrode for high prr pulse capacitors should be was one of the first to change when more efficient capacitors were required [33].
M0 L D ED IN S U LATO RS
The rapid development of the thermosetting plastic industry provided a means t o produce electrode/insulator assemblies quickly, almost a t will, since experimental items could be obtained quickly, from vacuum casting any of several plastic materials [8]. Heavily loaded with inorganic fillers, the bushings were so contoured as to add very little to the inductance of the element assembly, and the heat transfer characteristics were helpful in transferring the latent heat out of the interior of the capacitors. Low profile epoxy insulators are advantageous to use up to 75 kV, and can be reliably sealed, with leak-free operation over a very large temperature range [66].
904
Figure 27 illustrates the diverse shapes and sizes of several commercially available pulse power conditioning capacitors in both metallic and insulating cases [8,66]. The electrode variety is just as large for both types of cases [66,67]. For insulated cases, the electrode design is complicated by the fact that the frequencies involved with normal high prr power conditioning service results in minimum current penetration in the conductor foil, due to skin effect, and the current path along a surface must be closely examined to prevent arc-overs, which may destroy a solder bond or a weak weld [24].
RELIABILITY OF PERFORMANCE
RELIABILITY AND LONG LIFE
and long life are often considered to be synonymous, and perhaps can be so considered. If wearout was the only consideration of reliability, a design conceived for infinite endurance should be a very reliable capacitor; however, early random failures are characteristic of unreliability, and malfunctions of this type can conceivably be encountered during operation of a capacitor intended to last almost forever [66,67,69,70]. Careful quality control in manufacture can contribute significantly to reliable performance and long average life, but inattention to inherent reliability during the design stage can introduce stumbling blocks in the path from concept to product realization [8,12-14,19-23,25-28,30-34,3641,48-54,58-61,66-721.
data, will produce the state-of-the-art high prr, high energy density pulse capacitor [6,67]. There exists an abundance of guidelines to follow, although the design rules vary with capacitor application [8,26,33]. Each new performance plateau calls into being a new limit. One simply cannot wait passively until some discovery removes a contemporary limitation on performance or utility. At this point in time it would seem that capacitor energy density could easily be vastly increased if only a new, low-loss insulating film material, something like polypropylene, polysulfone, or polycarbonate, but with a substantially larger permittivity, could be made available in thickness values useful to capacitor engineers [66,67]. It is likely that reliability and longevity of high repetition rate pulse capacitors can be properly advanced by continuing and expanding the investigations reported by Sandia National Laboratories [71] into the use of perfluorocarbon liquids for pulse capacitor impregnation, and increase the application of folded-foil windings to extend life and decrease losses. Both techniques prolong life, according to the results a t this point, and logically, can contribute to increased energy density as well [71].
ELIABILITY
CAPACITOR PERFORMANCE AN A LYS I S

BACKGROUND
system designer recognizes the need for knowledge of all facets of the pulse power conditioning system. Some aspects of this discipline are common to all components of the facility, and one of the most useful and important is the analysis of the performance data [29]. This applies to the individual component performance as well as that of the complete system. In fact, the analysis of the capability of the components is absolutely necessary for the prediction of the reliability of the pulse power conditioning system [8,72].
EFFECT OF HIGH ENERGY DENSITY O N RELIABILITY

Preoccupation with extreme energy density can contribute to poor reliability, since operation is necessarily moved from the lower half of the distribution of stress Values of critical materials towards the upper limits of the upper half. Empirical d a t a shows that even 100% inspection of component parts or materials is only about 80% effective in locating the substandard materials. The same condition prevails in all stages of process control and final inspection. Combining this with the necessary tolerances on material characteristics and dimensions, one can appreciate that high reliability is not something which can be given lip service and then ignored. The human factor must also be taken into consideration [5,28].
HE
The next Section of the paper includes a description of several methods of analyzing and scaling performance d a t a that are directed, in this case, toward capacitor evaluation, although the means of treating the numbers are just as applicable to other high power electronic components [67].
P0T E N TIA L CA PAC IT0 R TECH NOLOGY ADVANCES

Long life can be designed into capacitors, just as in any component: an inspired design, based on solid empirical
CAPACITOR PERFORMANCE SCALING FACTORS

Any technical activity which has endured for a period of years seems to engender a number of rules of thumb or other behavior standards, the origin of which may be lost

under test [66,67,72] Lx =
L R ( vx vR) -
905
in antiquity [43]. No doubt all such standards are firmly rooted in fact, but many have been expanded to include factors not part of the original intent. One such rule is the often applied fifth power law, having to do with electrical stress [52,53,66,67]. In the case of capacitors, a t least, this law resolutely states that the life of a capacitor is often inversely proportional t o the fifth power of the voltage applied, assuming all other factors being the same, and is mathematically set forth [6,8,66] as
( ~x
/ E R ) -x (QX
/ Qn )-
(TR /TX
1(18)
A corollary t o the fifth power law is one that predicts that the life of a capacitor is halved for each 1OC increase in operating temperature, a t the temperature a t which the original test results were obtained. The basis for this law, lies in reference to the chemical activity at the two temperatures, and is rooted in the Arrhenius equation. This empirical temperature behavior is described mathematically [6,66] as
where LX is the lifetime to be determined, L R the empirical reference life value, VX the applied voltage of experimental condition, VR the reference voltage for known life, Ex the insulation field stress for experimental condition, ER the reference field stress for known life, QX the circuit Q of experimental condition, QR the reference circuit Q for known life, T x the discharge period a t the experimental condition, TR the discharge period for known life, and W , X , Y , Z are the inverse power factors for the capacitor design and materials being tested. Q is related to circuit voltage fractional reversal VR, [66,671
Q=
7r
21n(l/VR)
(19)
DESIGN OF TESTS
While the foregoing appears only peripheral to the statistical analysis of test data, it is essential to the statistical extrapolation of data to end use conditions differing from those pertinent to the data in hand [6,66,67]. It is seldom practical or economical t o conduct evaluation or life tests under all simultaneous environmental conditions covered by the users application [6]. It is necessary then that the testing be accelerated to a significant degree, and the acceleration must be achieved by increasing the stress on the component or system t o a point where the results are predictable, but not beyond the intrinsic capabilities of the component [6,8,14,18-23,25-28,30-41]. Stress increase can, of course, be mechanical or electrical/chemical for capacitors, but the most common acceleration is obtained from an intelligent increase in applied voltage and/ or temperature [6,8,37,66,67]. Since the statistical approach to data analysis presumes that the life-limiting mechanism is simple wearout, it is important that acceleration conditions do not exceed the inherent stress limits of the materials [72-741. Power conditioning components today are operated far closer to their intrinsic stress capabilities than conventional industrial or commercial units, and the acceleration conditions of stress must be very carefully chosen during the test design activity [ll,41, 66,67,70-721.
Such guidelines as the two noted above can be very helpful, but far more thorough performance evaluation is necessary to obtain the maximum performance from capacitors, or from any other component, for that matter. For example, the fifth power law must be expanded t o include other system factors influencing the rate of failure [2,3,8,11,67,70]. It is inadequate to merely assume that the applied voltage, and the resultant electrical stress on the insulating materials, are always the same [5,6,66]. In a capacitor, the inter-electrode potential may be a t a different value than the insulating film material stress, and these two factors must be separately evaluated [72]. Also, the voltage itself must be considered as to the rate of change in its value with time - if an oscillatory voltage, and also in regard to the polarity of the voltage [6]. These considerations expand the basic fifth power equation t o one such as shown below, the inverse powers of which must be obtained from highly elaborate test programs wherein each design factor is carefully determined [6,8,67]. These inverse power law programs are very important to component manufacturers, of course, but can be equally useful to users concerned with preparing performance specifications critical t o procurement of components for maximum system utility and minimum cost. For example: the fifth power law relation has been expanded to separate the inverse powers of applied voltage, insulation stress, voltage reversal, and frequency, all to be experimentally validated for the design and materials
PULSE CAPACITOR RESEARCH

RESEARCH TO INCREASE ENERGY DENSITY
P to this point in time in the field, increases in energy density have been obtained by increasing the insula-
906
tion electrical stress [33-361. This is logical enough, since the results - a t least for the specific energy density showed exponential improvement. When the twin factors of life expectancy and reliability are considered, however, the gains are not without cost, for the inverse power value for E for most insulating film materials turns out to be an amount far greater than the exponent of the energy density gain. In other words, quadrupling the energy density can be done by doubling the insulation electrical stress, but this shortens the expected lifetime by a t least one order of magnitude. It turns out that the earliest pulse power conditioning system designs were so conservative that full benefits of the increase in energy density were obtained while the longevity was satisfactory for the purposes in mind [33]. Improvements in insulating materials have contributed substantially, and in the case of the introduction of low loss plastic films for commercial ac and high prr applications, increases in energy density were accompanied by increased life and reliability [34-381. In addition, the efficiency of power transfer was enhanced as internal power losses in the new capacitors were reduced by factors of 3 to 5 over the early paper types [3,6,37-401. It is quite likely that future gains in energy discharge capacitors will be forthcoming only after a great amount of basic development is successfully completed [76,77]. There are new methods of combating the problems of stress enhancement and insulating system wearout, resulting from operating near the intrinsic strength of the material, such as folding the foil edge and improvements in capacitor winding and impregnation [58,66,69]. Also, the earlier practice of chemical scavenging of partial discharge byproducts has not been commonly used in pulse capacitors because operation a t high temperatures was not usually a factor. Such measures will be needed for future energy density increases a t elevated temperatures [6,66,67,70,71]. The mechanism of the stabilization of power capacitors by scavengers, e.g. epoxy, is related t o maintaining room temperature electric strength a t elevated temperatures [ l l ,17,181. Significant increases in the permittivity of insulating materials would bring immediate benefits in energy density. Usually, increases in permittivity are accompanied by decreases in efficiency, and large increases in price, a t least until large-volume production commences [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 14,23,34]. Modest improvements in energy density can result if attention is given to refinement of the techniques of encasement, but the gains may well be more than cancelled if cost is increased [34-361. In most applications of singleshot pulse discharge capacitors, the greatest benefit from
increased energy density is a decrease in unit cost/Joule P31.
High prr capacitors, on the other hand, also can be improved by increasing power transfer capability, and there are means of bringing this about [6-81. Mauldins success with the perfluorocarbon impregnants points the way to opportunity in one direction [36]. The possibility of developing new plastic materials with increased permittivity, breakdown strength, and temperature resistance is relatively good [35]. Much needs to be done in plotting current paths within windings if the gains are not to be lost as operation a t higher frequencies is attempted [24, 32,38,41,44,46,49,52,55-57,66,70,72].
RESEARCH TO INCREASE EF Fl Cl EN C Y
For the majority of single-shot pulse discharge capacitors, improvement of energy density and reduction of cost is more important than efficiency [33]. Power conditioning apparatus of current design loses little power in charging capacitors of high insulation resistance and low insulation power loss [27]. Huge banks hold charge for very short periods, thus little power can leak off when fully charged. Fast discharge conditions create a n opportunity for increased efficiency, particularly under HV conditions, small bank capacitance, and the general conditions found in Marx type generators, particularly in regard to the transfer, or peaking, capacitors. There will be continued improvement in the near future for such components [27-311.
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
PERCENT OF RATED Dc CHARGE VCCTAGE
Figure 40.
Series M capacitor life multiplication factor vs. % rated nameplate dc voltage for the name plate dc voltage designs available ([6-81).
907
\
-60
-40
studies, laser pumping and related fields, there are many requirements for large amounts of energy t o be discharged in very short time intervals. Peak power requirements of 5 T W on both a near-single-shot (pphr) and repetitive bases (0.01 to 50000 Hz), discharged in 1 ps are not uncommon. The most recent advanced energy discharge capacitor developments in this, field have been through innovative engineering of US corporations [7,8].
-20
20
40
60
80
O E P A T I f f i TEMXFIATLPE
-C
Figure 41. Series M capacitor life multiplication factor vs. operating temperature [6-81. Airborne pulse forming networks will be the beneficiaries of improvements in efficiency of high prr capacitors, and lower electrical losses are but one factor in this gain [6,32,38,47,48,51,55,67].Improvements in encasement, meaning lighter weight and improved sealing, will contribute t o better efficiency. Operation a t reduced environmental pressure must be considered, for ensuring positive pressure in insulation systems improves performance, and such a circumstance is presently prohibitively costly, as well as far from reliable [66,67,71].
Today, three standard types of low prr (0.01 to 10 Hz) large (> 100 J ) energy storage capacitors exist in several case styles, bushing configurations, and ratings developed to meet a wide variety of applications. Salient features of each type are summarized below [7,8]:
T Y P E C (HEAVY D U T Y )
These are HV units (< 125 kV), of capacitance < 240 pF, and designed for severe applications involving high peak currents and up to 80% voltage reversal. They utilize a paper and castor oil insulation system in rectangular welded metal cases for use in multi-MJ energy storage systems, metal forming equipment (Magnaformm), and power utility thumpers (i.e. cable fault locators) [8].
T Y P E C (LIGHT D U T Y )
Light duty units are HV (< 125 kV), high energy (to 6 kJ), high capacitance (< 400 p F ) units in metal cases, designed for non-oscillatory discharge in multi-MJ capacitor banks where long life at minimum cost per Joule is required [8].
RESEARCH T O INCREASE RELlA B I LlT Y

A sophisticated program of acceptance testing is essential to increase reliability. Both Los Alamos National Laboratory, in the SCYLLAC program, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in the SHIVA and NOVA programs, have found this practice essential [27,28]. The capacitor industry will be able to continue to enhance component reliability performance, but significant improvement is not likely to come from any one specific discovery. Significant improvement in reliability is most likely t o come only from increasing the knowledge of the people who actually produce the materials and build the capacitors. Most defects have been obvious t o someone a t some time in the manufacturing cycle [8,12-14,27,28, 31,33,34,36-41,43,48-54,66,67,70,71].
<
TYPE S
This is a unique capacitor utilizing plastic rather than metal cases and a paper/polyester, castor oil insulation system. Voltages range from 20 t o 100 kV, with voltages > 50 kV requiring an insulating atmosphere. Because of their flat configuration, these capacitors have made it possible to build fast discharge Marx generators in less than half the volume of conventional units using metal case capacitors. Standard Series S units provide approximately 100 J/kg energy density and 100000 shot discharge lifetime. Special units are available with up to 200 J/kg and 10000 shot lifetime [8].
SPECIFIC CLASSES OF POLY MER IC F ILM/ PAP ER ENERGY DISCHARGE CA PACITORS
TYPE M
These are modest energy types of low voltage (6 15 kV), low energy (< 1 kJ), very high energy density (> 200
N plasma physics, subatomic particle research, con-
trolled nuclear fusion, electro-magnetic pulse (EMP)
908
J/kg) capacitors utilizing either all-film (Mylar) or paperand-film in combination, packaged in cylindrical or rectangular metal cases. These capacitors are used in defibrillators, small laser pumps, flash lamp applications, airborne applications, wherever a rugged, reliable and compact metal cased unit is required [8].
DESIGN CON SI D ERATION S

tensity and proper ringing frequency, the capacitor must be designed and assembled so that the internal inductance and resistance are held to an absolute minimum; considerably less than that normally associated with capacitors of more conventional design [6-81. Besides the function of energy storage, this class of capacitor can be thought of as a coaxial transmission line of low resistance and short length in which great design effort has been expended to provide a low ratio of outer to inner conductor wrap diameter minimizing inductance (Figures 21 and 23) [ 6 , 8 , 2 4 , 7 5 ] .
its full performance rating. The impregnant is fed under vacuum to each capacitor and carefully controlled to be sure that each capacitor section is thoroughly fluid-filled in such a way that no voids or pockets remain. Before use, the impregnating fluid has been subjected to special processing to insure essentially complete removal of moisture and other impurities that could affect the capacitor operation [14, 19,26,27,34].
o provide a controlled, ultra-fast discharge a t full in-
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS GENERAL
E N ER GY RAT I N GS
The storage capability of high energy capacitors is expressed in J (or Ws).
CAPACITANCE
A major consideration in any capacitor design is life expectancy. In high energy density capacitors, this must be given particular attention [6-81. The most important parameters affecting life are the ratio of charge voltage to rated voltage, degree of voltage reversal, speed of discharge (ringing frequency), time held on charge, repetition rate and temperature [8].
Most large energy storage/discharge capacitors have ratings > 1 pF. These classes of capacitors are designed to meet their rated capacitance within -5 to +15% when measured on a capacitance bridge at a frequency of 120 Hz, and +25-C.
VOLTAGE RATING
M A N U FACTU RING
To provide the life and performance demanded in todays high energy applications, pulse discharge capacitors must be manufactured under ultra-clean conditions in a plant located in a n area free of most sources of atmospheric contamination. Long, predictable capacitor life also requires care in processing and impregnation. Manufacturers maintain rigid standards in this respect, with quality control systems that make it possible for any capacitor, as well as the insulating materials, to be checked for electrical parameters a t any stage in the manufacturing process [27,30,35,36,39]. The capacitor elements are assembled from the highest grade materials and the winding operations are performed by skilled operators on modern machines in dust free, air-conditioned rooms. This assures a uniform product free of contaminants, which is an absolute necessity for the high stress applications for which these capacitors are designed [8, 13,53,54,66].
Continuous monitoring during the drying and impregnation cycles insures that each capacitor will perform to
Since the energy stored varies directly with the square of the peak charging voltage, the customary safety factors built into conventional capacitors cannot be economically applied to the high energy density energy storage class of capacitor [27,33]. The voltage rating for each capacitor is the maximum voltage to which it should be charged for maximum life expectancy, taking into account the other required operating characteristics [33].
I N DUCTA N C E
Typically, these capacitors have an ESL of 10 to 40 nH. The specific value can be found in individual capacitor data sheets. The standing wave method for determining the resonant frequency of circuits involving low L and high C , or the adjustable inductor LC shock discharge methods are normally used in determining the inductance [44,56].
For fast discharge applications, the ESL must be kept to a n absolute minimum in order to achieve the maximum peak discharge current and ringing frequency 126-311. By constructing the capacitor sections in a coaxial configuration, a return path is provided for the discharge currents
IEEE mansactions on Electrical Insulation
900
which has the effect of cancelling a large part of the inductive field [6,8,12]. In addition, the sections are laid out in a manner which minimizes the length of the internal capacitor connections [8]. Since the capacitors ESL is so low, it is important for the user t o exercise care in the selection of innerconnecting leads and protective devices such as switches and fuses; otherwise, the advantages of the capacitors low inductance could be nullified [29].
DISCHARGE PERIOD/RINGING FREQUENCY
discussed before and are the practical lumped inductance limitations of the HV geometries inside the capacitor and the transmission line discharge time of each pack in the capacitor. There are some kJ-class systems capable of 25 to 50 ns discharge times operating a t low prr (< 10 Hz). These were developed a number of years ago for laser drivers, and they worked very well but are rather expensive [75]. High prr versions may require pulse charging and grading development, particularly if the 85% reversal duty cycle is retained.
PEAK CURRENT
Resistance in the discharge loop represents a power loss term, which should be minimized for maximum energy transfer. The limit here is the resistance of the load, be it a laser, diode, or pure inductor. If the resistance is made small in order to increase the peak current and reduce the pulse width (Figure 29) then the peak current I p k is approximately
The balance of the external circuit parameters rather than the capacitor itself will usually be the limiting factor in determining the circuit ringing frequency (i.e. l/discharge period) [33].
PEAK DISCHARGE CURRENT
Many of these capacitors are capable of peak discharge currents >> 40 kA. In fact, some Series C units have been used successfully in applications wherein the peak discharge current was greater than 250 kA a t 85% voltage reversal [8]. It should be noted, however, that at low voltages the inductance of the capacitor may limit the peak current. A simplified discharge circuit is sketched in Figure 28; this illustration shows a resistivety charged capacitor being discharged into a load, which has a lumped resistance R and inductance L. In the circuit in Figure 28, closing the switch discharges the capacitor into the load in a nonoscillatory, overdamped, or oscillatory manner depending upon the values of RI L and C as illustrated in Figure 29 [6]. The terminology is defined just below the heading and the ringing frequency, peak current, voltage reversal, and number of post-discharge rings in the oscillatory case can be calculated [6]. The question of what occurs when the load is a laser for which the peak voltage must be reached before current flows, is very complex [6,8].
Increasing now the value of R where
gradually reduces the peak current, until, a t critical damping I p k is reduced by a factor of 0.4 from the oscillatory case [6,8]. Note that the current waveform can be clamped when a undirectional switch such as a thyratron is used. In this case the switch opens when the voltage across it turns negative and the device turns off. The rms current is thus significantly reduced and the voltage reversal experienced by the capacitor is controlled primarily by the inverse voltage-limiting circuits placed across the switch. Each case here must be individually analyzed. For this subject, for modulator and laser drivers, computer simulation is a very useful tool [6,8,33,44,46,53, 561. When the discharge involves an RLC circuit, the peak current can be approximated by the relation
vdc
RI NG I N G FR EQ U E N CY
For oscillatory discharges and small load resistances the ringing frequency is f=1
Ipk
(23)
2 x m
w2LC=1
(20)
where I p k is the peak current, v d c the peak dc charging voltage, R the circuit resistance, C the circuit capacitance, L the circuit inductance. Generally speaking, this expression can be used whether the wave is critically damped or oscillatory. In fact, in most applications the values of R, L and C will be such
It is very difficult to make this larger than 100 MHz in lumped capacitor systems for high-power applications at the kV level [2,5,6,8]. The reasons for this have been
910
that the equation can be abbreviated t o [8,66] I p k 0 . 8 m for the oscillatory case, and I p k 0.7 V I R when critically damped reversal.
consists of a sufficient number of wrap-around Kraft papers to withstand a terminal-to-case potentia1 well above the rated voltage [8]. The internal arrangement of the sections and connections is such that expansion and contraction of the case will not place a n undue strain on any of the parts. Standard Series C capacitors utilize a single low inductance, coaxial bushing. The connection from the ground end of the pack t o the case is made through a solidly soldered/ welded flexible conductor of wide cross section, (to maintain low inductance). No discharge resistors are used in the internal connections. Figure 25 shows typical Series configurations [661. On capacitors designed for service 6 30 kV, external electrical connection to the case is facilitated by weld nuts. In capacitors designed for service > 30 kV, tapped holes in the metal outer rim of the coaxial connector provide the means of connection. When the application involves operation > 60 kV, the insulator bushings should be immersed or filled with a n insulating fluid [8]. Although special bushing configurations such as single or double upright porcelain, or double low profile can be provided, the use of this standard design will provide the lowest possible inductance.
VOLTAGE REVERSAL
The voltage has a first negative peak given by
K e v eraal
~
Vcharge
exp
[-$E]
(24)
where << 1 or << 2 L / R . Normally, this is expressed as a percentage of the charge voltage. For most high prr capacitor geometries, 85% reversal is the cost-effective limit and costs a modest premium over the standard 20% reversal units. Even if these large reversals are experienced on a small percentage of the pulses, reliability margins can often be significantly enhanced by requiring the unit t o be rated for a 1-cycle reversal of 85% for all pulses. Reversal primarily causes electrochemical partial discharge damage a t insulation edges in a mechanically well-designed capacitor [6].
xR/2m ?rm
DESIGN INFORMATION SERIES C CAPACITORS

SERIES C CONSTRUCTION
23 shows some of the construction details of the Series C capacitors. The insulation system consists of multiple sheets of high density Kraft capacitor tissue, impregnated with a specially processed castor oil. The foil electrodes consist of 99% pure aluminum which has met rigid specifications for annealing, freedom from wrinkles and absence of oil, grease and other surface contaminants. Type C capacitors are encased in arc-welded, mild steel cans which are capable of absorbing their own energy without rupture, in the unlikely, rare event of a capacitor failure. The internal construction is quite rigid in order to accommodate the very large internal mechanical forces that will occur during energy discharge [8].
SERIES C ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

EQUIVALENT SERIES RESISTANCE
IGURE
The ESR of Series C capacitors is of such a low value (< 5 mQ) that it will not be the limiting factor on voltage reversal in applications involving full energy, oscillatory discharges. Figure 30 gives a dramatic visualization of the manner in which life expectancy can be increased with a reduction in the degree of voltage reversal [6,8]. DISSI PAT ION FACTOR This value (the ratio of the ac power lost to the kVA through the capacitor), is normally less than 0.5% when measured on a low-voltage capacitance bridge at a frequency of 120 Hz, referred t o a temperature of 25-C. The DF for Series C capacitors a t other frequencies remains < 1% to 10 kHz, rising t o 10% a t 1 MHz [SI.
All Type C capacitors are physically of the extended foil construction, where an edge of one foil electrode extends beyond the Kraft tissue insulation a t the top of the capacitor section, while one edge of the other electrode extends beyond the tissues at the bottom of the same section. This allows maximum peak discharge current (i.e. inductance-limited) and eliminates the need for additional tab-type connections. The major insulation outer wrap around the completed capacitor section(s)
<
IN S U LA T ION RESISTA N C E
Typical insulation resistance is in excess of 1000 MOp F when measured a t a potential of 1000 v& after an on-charge time of 5 min, a t a temperature of 25'C [8].

REPETITION RATE
911
The normal charge/discharge repetition rate for Series C capacitors is once every 10 s; however, it can be higher for applications involving lower energy density; capacitors designed for higher repetition rates (10 to 100 Hz) have been develloped [66,67].
LIFE EXPECTANCY
than the discharge cycle. As a result, there will be no significant temperature rise. A typical duty cycle might involve a 2 min charge time followed by a 1 ps discharge time. When repetition rates > 1 per 10 s are contemplated, special designs may be necessary [33,66,67]. For operation at temperatures below the minimum values, consideration must be given to the fact that the impregnant may shrink and cause voids which could eventually result in severe internal damage from partial discharges [6]. This problem is somewhat alleviated by the fact that the standard rectangular containers used with Series C capacitors allow some expansion and contraction of the flat sides in a bellows-like fashion; however, oscillatory discharge at low temperatures should be avoided b81.
The life expectancy (number of charge/discharge cycles) of high energy, fast discharge capacitors is a complex subject due to the large number of variables that affect life [6]. Even when all variables are known, no single value can be assigned since there is also some variation in the materials used and the assembly of each unit [66,67]. With that in mind, Table 9 shows the range in typical values of life expectancy for standard Series C Capacitors. These values are based on the assumption that the capacitors are discharged at their rated voltage a t 25'C. Figures 31 and 32 show how operation at other than rated voltage and temperature will affect the life expectancy [6, 8,66,67]. For Series C capacitors designed for voltage reversal, there is an additional item affecting life: the ringing frequency (i.e. l/discharge period). In Table 9, certain discharge periods were assumed. Figure 33 shows how life expectancy will be affected by operation a t differing discharge times, as explained in Figure 34 [SI. Before leaving the subject of life expectancy, one more comment is in order: capacitors of this type are specifically designed for high energy charge/discharge applications rather than long term on-time a t high dc voltages [8,33]. In concentrating on these former characteristics, dc life has had to suffer. Typical dc life is 1000 h for a Series C capacitor designed for 80% voltage reversal and 300 h for those units designed for high energy/light duty applications [SI.
T E M PE RATU RE
SERIES S AND SS CAPACITORS
s and ss capacitors are unusual designs, unique in the capacitor industry, providing characteristics of light weight, extremely low inductance, HV gradient and high reliability in a highly compact package [8]. This combination of features makes Series S capacitors particularly well suited for use in compact, fast-discharge Marx generators [29].
ERIES
Since Series S capacitors are designed for use in an atmosphere of a n insulating gas or fluid, their light weight and insulating cases making them ideal for airborne HV apparatus. Table 10 illustrates the performance profile for representative Type S,SS and related prr plastic cased capacitors [6,7,18].
SERIES S CONSTRUCTION
Figures 20, 26 and 27 show construction details of the Series S capacitors, capable of storing energies from -1 J to nominally 15 kJ. All units are encased in cases made of an injection molded, thermoplastic insulating material. The insulating system employed for Series S capacitors is chosen for maximum energy density. Where other concerns prevail, such as high prr, maximum life expectancy and maximum capacitor Q, special designs do exist [8]. The active elements of these capacitors are of a novel wide laid-in t a b design to obtain minimum inductance and maximum energy density a t H V (Figure 20). For such a construction feature, a limit is placed on the peak discharge current.
All Series C capacitors are designed to be operated in any position over the temperature range of -10 to +40'C. Most of their characteristics are stated for an operating temperature of +25OC, where most large energy discharge capacitor banks are operated [8]. Now, in fast energy discharge single-shot, applications such as Marx generators and laser pumping banks, thermal heating from electrical losses is usually negligible since the charging current duration is 5 to l o x longer
912
SERIES S ELECTRICAL CH A RACT ERlST ICs

IN D U C T A N CE
LIFE EXPECTANCY
The ESL of Series S capacitors is a dominant factor in the design. Uniquely, the longer units have the lowest inductance, << 20 nH. The ESL of the 250 and 300 mm long capacitors is 25 to 27 nH, by the self-ringing method of determination discussed earlier [44,56].
When discharged at rated voltage, with no more than a 20% voltage reversal, and a prr of 1 He, the life expectancy of Series S capacitors with voltage ratings 50 kV will be typically 100000 discharges. Figure 37 shows how life expectancy is increased by operation at less than full voltage rating. For Series S capacitors rated > 50 kV, life expectancy estimates become considerably more application specific (81.
<
T E M P E RATU RE
The peak discharge current of Series S capacitors is limited to a maximum of 25 kA.

VOLTAGE REVERSAL
Using plastic cases, and their unique construction, Series S capacitors can be operated in any position, over the temperature range from -10 to +40'C, but some decrease in life expectancy will be experienced at the lower temperatures [8].
SERIES
The voltage reversal of the Series S capacitors is limited to 20%, for rated design life.
EQUIVALENT SERIES RES ISTAN C E
SS CAPACITORS
Due to their unique construction, the ESR of the Series S capacitors is frequency dependent a s shown in Figure 35. D ISS IP A T I0N FACTOR
Designed primarily for service at voltages between 75 and 100 kV, the new Series SS plastic-case capacitor extends the unique Series S concept to heavier duty, HV reversal and extreme discharge current, previously served only by large metal-case capacitors [6-81. The modest size increase over the Series S line provides substantially increased energy density in the 75 to 100 kV ratings [8]. Where both HV and high prr are required, Series SS capacitors are produced in a high-Q design for megashotclass lifetime service, this with low inductance and bushings designed for parallel-plate transmission line connection. The Series S and Series SS concept is flexible, so that the capacitor design can be tailored to the application conditions for maximum energy at the required life. Both single- and double-ended terminations are available, as for the Series S. At 100 kV a maximum capacitance value of 0.275 p F will fit into a 0.75 m length, yielding a stored energy of x 15 kJ. Such a capacitor would be expected to produce a n average life of 100000 shots at low voltage reversal, more than 4 x the life of a n equivalent Series S capacitor [6-81. In general, the same inverse power factors of voltage, insulating film stress, temperature and Q pertain to the Series SS capacitors as for the Series S. Since the insulating systems employed for high prr capacitors, though, are much different than those used for single-discharge capacitors, the DF and ESR values are significantly reduced [7]. It should be noted that the method of connection of current-carrying members of the capacitor elements permits Series SS capacitors t o handle peak current several
The Dissipation Factor, although unusually low, is frequency dependent, increasing from < 0.5% at 1 kHz to 2% a t 100 kHz, and rising to 6% at 1 MHz. These Values were determined by a standard, low-level capacitance bridge at 25C [7,8]. INSU LATlON RESISTANCE The behavior is similar to the Type C capacitors, i.e. [SI.
REPETITION RATE
> 1000 MO-pF
Standard Series S capacitors are designed for prr no greater than 1 He; however, they can be used at higher charge-discharge repetition rates if a lower life expectancy is acceptable. Figure 36 shows the allowable charge voltage and the prr ranges permissible, for discharge times spanning 1 through 10 ps [6-8,66,67].
013
5,700 gFl50 VDC
density per kilogram for times [8].
<
1 ps to
10 ms discharge
SERIES M CONSTRUCTION
Generally, Series M capacitors are cylindrically wound and use extended foil construction for minimum inductance. The foil electrodes consist of 99% pure aluminum purchased to the same rigid specifications as noted previously. The insulating film is Mylar impregnated with silicone oil. Because of its high insulation strength, Mylar offers significant size and weight savings over paper capacitors of equivalent reliability in this size of capacitor [721. The cylindrical windings provide a very rugged, compact, intrinsically space-qualifiable, package. In fact, one of the first applications for Series M capacitors was in the plasma propulsion system of a space satellite. For their voltage ratings and energy storage capabilities, Series M capacitors are just about the smallest and lightest capacitors that can be obtained. As an example, the largest 5 kV unit stores 440 J in a case 80x165 mm. diameter, with a total weight of less than 1.6 kg, yielding an energy density of 275 J/kg [8].
0
I- 1.0
.01
-&
' ' -b
-40
+ O : I +AS I +70 I I +95 I I+ 1 : 0 TEMPERATURE C)
Figure 42.
Wide temperature range in performance of advanced dimethylformamide electrolyte, electrolytic capacitors is illustrated. Operation from -55 to +1OO'C is now possible, compared to -20 to 85C for conventional electrolytes [ 6 5 ] .
SERIES M ELECTRICAL C H A RACTERIST ICs

Most electrical characteristics are based on the same criteria as Series C, although the following exceptions apPlY PI
times the 25 kA limit placed on Series S capacitors [ti, 661. For the increased performance of the large Series SS construction, a modest cost increase is encountered. There is also a n increase in equivalent series inductance (ESL) > 2.5 x the Series S value, for the same overall length. The very factors that endow the Series SS with longer life and far greater performance result in a lower SRF. Usually this is not an important factor, but should be kept in mind [7,8].
rl
CAPACITANCE
Although the change is modest, the capacitance of Series M units is temperature sensitive as shown in Figure 38 [7,8]. IN DUCTANCE
SERIES M CAPACITORS
Because of their small size, Series M capacitors usually exhibit an ESL of < 10 nH determined by the standing wave method [8,44].
ergy density (> 200 J/kg). They are used in applications requiring small size and high reliability such as medical defibrillators, pumping small lasers, flash lamps and airborne applications where the emphasis is on high energy
HE series M capacitors illustrated in Figure 27 are a family low voltage (< 15 kV) but very high en-

Peak discharge currents of Series M capacitors are limited to a maximum of 25 kA [8].
914
V O LTAG E REV E RSA L
Series M capacitors are designed primarily for overdamped discharges where voltage reversal does not exceed 20%. Figure 39 shows how larger voltage reversals reduce life expectancy [7,8].
INS U LA T I 0N R ES ISTA N C E
voltage reversal and temperature. Figure 40 shows this relationship, based on the capacitor discharging with a 20% voltage reversal, a t 25C [8].
T E M PE RAT U RE
The insulation resistance of Series M capacitors exceeds 5000 M a - p F when measured at a potential of 1 kVac with an at-charge time of 5 min, at 25C [8].
REPETITION RATE
Although Series M capacitors can be operated over a range of -55 to +65'C, life expectancy will suffer above 40'C, as shown in Figure 41 [8]. Since Series M capacitors are specifically designed for discharge applications, the time on dc charge should be kept to a minimum.
MICA CAPACITORS
Other special pulse capacitor designs have been produced and put in service as the needs arose [6]. The unique physical and electrical qualities of resin-impregnated mica sheets have permitted the creation of many unusual designs [55]. Typically, mica capacitors, due to their low loss, and hence high Q, are used in systems where the capacitors are subject to high frequencies or prr. These systems include transmitters and pulse forming networks. Mica and mica/paper capacitors are particularly suited for operation where high ambient temperatures exist. Not all of the interesting and important pulse capacitors are huge, and the voltage ratings do not have to be significant fractions of a MV, although capacitor manufacturers in Europe have made 250 kV units, several times the voltage ratings of the largest units of domestic manufacture. (There have been so-called 'peaking capacitors' made in this country whose ratings for pulse charging have far exceeded the MV value [SI). Here again, high-Q insulating media systems must be used to accommodate the pulse rise-times typically encountered in the peaking circuit [8].
Series M capacitors are designed for moderate prr. When used in applications involving prr > 1 Hz, steps should be taken to be sure that the capacitor does not overheat. Typically, a capacitor of the Series M configuration will experience a temperature increase of 200'C/W of power dissipated in the dielectric system. This is the internal winding hot spot temperature, not the outside case temperature. The insulation system temperature should never exceed 85'C, and this constraint ultimately limits the prr and duty cycle [8]. To estimate the temperature rise a t a given charge voltage and from that the dielectric temperature, the following relation can be used
T,=T,+AT
AT=
0.0012CV2( p r r ) (25) A
and T, is the ambient temperature ("C), C the capacitance (F), V the charge voltage (V), prr the pulse repetition rate (Hz), A the capacitor case surface area (m2), , the internal insulation hot spot temperature ('C). and T The discharge is assumed to be close to critically damped [8]. The factor 0.0012 is an experimentally-determined constant derived from tests on Series M capacitors [8]. By changing the charge voltage, and/or prr, it is generally possible to avoid overheating the capacitor. Cooling air or a heat sink applied to the top or bottom of the capacitor will also improve the situation. Cooling of the sidewalls has little effect due to the thermal insulation provided by the outer insulation wrap that protects the internal capacitor sections from flashing over to the metal case [2, 8,711.
LIFE EXPECTANCY
SMALL HIGH ENERGY DENSITY CAPACITORS

Examples of small (i.e. < 1 kJ) capacitors of very practical voltage ratings and useful energies are exemplified by the units developed by the late Howard Mauldin of Sandia National Laboratories, similar in external geometry to the series M units illustrated in Figure 24, in which he pioneered employing the exceptional characteristics of perfluorocarbon liquids and electronegative gases to impregnate plastic film cylindrical units, wound under carefully controlled uniform tension condition [36]. Such capacitors fill a select requirement, and are currently costly, but there are many applications needing just such capacitors, where the energy density and reliability requirements are severe [50,52-541.
As in the case of other capacitors, the life expectancy of the Series M units is affected by charge voltage, as well as
Vol. 2 5 No. 5 , October 1990
915
Normally, -the cathode foil is not etched, since this increases the cost, and is beyond the point of diminishing performance return [65]. The anode foil is formed a t approximately 500 t o 525 V, but the cathode foil is only formed to a nominal dc voltage. The higher the formaELECTROLYTIC ENERGY STORAGE tion voltage the thicker is the oxide layer, and the lower CAPACITORS the eventual capacitance. When a degree of voltage reversal is encountered during discharge the reverse current forms additional oxide on the cathode, and the result is Although not often considered as high energy/HV pulse capacitors when pulse power conditioning systems are in a rapid reduction in capacitance and an increase in loss the planning stage, electrolytic capacitors should not be factor. In fact, the capacitor almost becomes a resistor ignored. A number of quite satisfactory electrolytic ca- after prolonged operation a t as little as 20% voltage reversal. It should be noted that much of this is caused pacitor banks have been developed; the ones a t Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory come immediately to mind, by deterioration of the anodic oxide film. It should be and such banks can be cost effective if bank assembly cost noted that impurities in the anodic oxide film contribute to a high leakage current, and these are low when the is acceptable. aluminum foil, from which the anodic film is formed, is Electrolytic capacitors are not normally considered to of high purity. To stabilize the characteristics of elecbe high voltage devices, because the unit capacitor rat- trolytic capacitors for pulse service it is customary to use ing today is rarely greater than 450 V. High capacitance 99.99% pure foil, which also reduces the leakage current values are far more common due to the high permittivity significantly, to etch and form the cathode as well as the of the oxide used. Typical values of electrolytic capaci- anode, increasing the cost and reducing the energy dentors range from 700000 pF, 5 V to 2400 pF, 450 V [65]. sity somewhat, through incorporating several proprietary Pulse discharge service is also not normally the domain of processes involving the paper and the electrolyte. For electrolytics because such capacitors cannot sustain more HV banks, the user must make many series connections than a 3 V of voltage reversal. Although electrolytic internal to the capacitor bank, since the rated capacitor capacitors of the variety recommended for pulse discharge voltage will be no more than 450 Vdc; the circuit must service are wound with a number of layers of capacitor pa- include a Zener diode per capacitor to clip voltage reper between foil conductors, the paper supplies little in- versals, as well as a high-value shunt resistor across each sulation strength t o the unit, this function being assigned capacitor to accurately proportion the voltage. Even so, to the oxide electrochemically formed on the conductor the use of electrolytics for pulse systems has often been surface prior to winding, The electrolytic capacitor is im- practical [65,67]. pregnated with a liquid - called a n electrolyte - but the ELECT ROLYT I C CA PACI TO R purpose of the fluid is t o conduct the current, and the papers purpose is to hold the electrolyte in contact with ENERGY STORAGE/ENERGY the oxide [65].
The medical electronics field is another market for high energy density pulse capacitors. Modern external heart defibrillators store energy in a special capacitor using polyvinylidene difluoride film as the dielectric. These capacitors have very high energy densities, some > 400 J/kg, which means that portable defibrillators can be produced that are small and light enough t o be carried by one person up many flights of stairs. Many a life has been saved that would otherwise have been lost without such capacitors. These units are illustrated by the roll-top cans in the bottom right front of Figure 27 [66,67].
The anode of most aluminum electrolytic capacitors is electrochemically etched to increase the surface area by a factor as much as 8 x . The insulating medium, the oxide, intimately follows the etched path, as does the electrolyte, and the capacitance is increased over that of plain foil by the same factor.
The deleterious effect of voltage reversal on the quality and performance of electrolytic capacitors has t o do with the manner in which the foil conductors are prepared. Since the capacitance of any capacitor is directly proportional t o the active area between the conduotors
DISCHARGE CON SI DERAT IONS
A (26) d where K, is the relative permittivity, E the permittivity of the aluminum oxide, A the effective active area of the plates, d the thickness of the oxide.
C = KE-
nology, these ratings increase linearly with the voltage rating [65]. It is interesting t o note that charge storage density (C/m3 or C/kg) decreases linearly with increasing voltage [65]. Many applications of electrolytic energy storage and energy discharge require high energy density, 400 J/kg and above [65]. In this general context, it
HE energy density of energy storage capacitors is rated in l / m 3 or J/kg. With present electrolytic foil tech-
916
should be noted that the voltage rating is inversely related to the capacitance (per unit area, volume or mass of foil of a given thickness), since the voltage rating is a large fraction (- 0.8) of the anodic oxide film formation voltage then a linear relation of energy density with rated voltage follows [6,65]. The rapidity of an energy discharge, for these lowinductance (10 to 100 nH) electrolytics, is limited by the true series ESR of the capacitor, which does not vary significantly with the discharge time constant t given by t = RC, where R is the load resistance RL plus the true series ESR of the capacitor, which does not vary with t , R = RL+ ESR. The minimum discharge time of a discharge capacitor is determined by its ESL and ESR. Lower ESR products are achievable at lower voltage ratings, since electrolytic capacitor resistivity increases exponentially with increasing voltage; but energy density is sacrificed a t the lower voltages. For values of t < 1 ms, and voltage ratings > 400 Vd,; begin to create appreciable losses due to the ESR. In charging capacitors to their rated voltage, the energy input is greater than the retrievable energy (651. This hysteresis loss dominates the heat generation for t > 1 ms at 3 25'C. The magnitude of this loss correlates with the measured dc leakage current. The percentage of hysteresis loss (energy loss divided by energy delivered to load) increases with increasing temperature and operating voltage for a given unit; percentages as high as 10% are common. The percentage ESR loss typically decreases with increasing temperature, and remains constant with increasing voltage. Current (and hence voltage) reversal in electrolytic capacitor energy discharge applications should be avoided unless the units are specifically constructed to handle this situation. For a series RLC circuit, current reversal occurs when R2C < 4L [6]. For continuous repetition rates exceeding one shot every 5 to 10 s , active cooling of the capacitor may be required. Capacitor manufacturers can implement designs to take advantage of available heat sinks; for higher continuous repetition rates, derating of the capacitor is necessary. For burst-mode applications, a typical temperature rise for a high energy density discharge capacitor with no heat sink in still air at 25'C is 0.05 to 0.1O'C per shot at repetition rates < 10 Hz [65]. There has been increased activity recently in the area of electrolyte development for electrolytic capacitors [65].
The number of electrolyte patents for electrolytic capacitors has increased substantially; most of these are for aluminum electrolytic capacitors. The majority of the patents are Japanese and have been, especially in the last few years, dominated by solid electrolytes. An aluminum elect.rolytic filter capacitor is accurately modeled by a series C , R , and L circuit. The R and L are the ESR and ESL, respectively. The methods of measurements of each of the parameters are discussed in turn. The variation of C , ESR, and ESL with temperature, dc voltage bias, frequency, and age is also discussed as are the meaning and implications of leakage current [65].
MEAS U R I N G CA PACITA NC E
soidal waveform. The rms value of the applied signal is usually < 1 V. Higher ac levels may cause loss of accuracy due to cathodic effects [65]. For low frequencies, f << SRF, clip-leads may be attached to the capacitor for a bridge reading. As the frequency of the applied waveform approaches the resonant frequency of the capacitor, a severe loss in accuracy generally occurs. This effect can be lessened by using a 4-lead (Kelvin-type) test fixture into which the capacitor plugs [65]. Capacitance of most aluminum electrolytic capacitors increases with increasing temperature, on the order of 5% for a temperature change from 25 to 85-C. Capacitance decreases with increasing frequency, and also increases slightly with increasing applied dc voltage, about 2% for a voltage increase from zero to rated voltage. Over the life of a capacitor, capacitance may increase or, less often, decrease. Figure 42 shows the variance of capacitance with frequency and temperature for an advanced -55 to +lOO'C electrolyte, dimethylformamide (DMF), recently introduced [65]. The temperature variation is mostly due to physical electrolyte properties [65]. The graph demonstrates the superior performance of DMF in the low temperature regions, in contrast to ethylene glycol based electrolytes that reach down only to -4O'C [65].
APACITANCE
of electrolytics is generally measured on
a capacitance bridge, which applies a low-level sinu-
ESR MEASUREMENT
ESR is readily measured on a capacitance bridge. Its value is generally displayed with more accuracy at higher frequencies than the capacitance, but as f appr.oaches the SRF, a low-inductance Kelvin-type fixture should be used. Since the ESR varies so widely with capacitance, a more universal measure is the DF, which
HE
I E E E lkansactions on Electrical Insulation
91 7
a t 25'C range from 2% (0.02) to x 10% (O.l), ESR decreases with increasing frequency, but the DF increases with increasing frequency. Both ESR and DF decrease with increasing temperature, the DF by as much as 50% between, 25 and 105'C. There is no appreciable change in ESR with applied dc voltage, but the ESR is seen to increase over the life of a capacitor [65]. ESR is an important parameter in predicting how much power will be lost as heat in the capacitor. The expression for this power is given by
a thin layer of indium between the capacitor and device terminals may be warranted at > 30 A if the capacitor terminals are aluminum.
MEASURING ESL
is undesirable at high frequencies and/or high capacitances. ESL is measured in a circuit such as the one shown in Figure 43, which was developed specifically for m F , low-inductance capacitors. A sinusoidal waveform of frequency 5 to 20 MHz is generated and supplied to a hf coupling toroid transformer (Ferroxcube 4C4 or comparable material) , which supplies the capacitor under test. A four-lead measurement arrangement measures the capacitor voltage with a hf response ac voltmeter, such as a Boonton Electronics Model 93AD [65]. A hf response current probe and amplifier, such as a Tektronix P6022 probe with a model 134 amplifier, are used to measure the current magnitude via another hf response ac voltmeter. All leads should be as short as practical and kept close together, preferably using coaxial cable. ESL is a function only of terminal and connection geometry; there is no change with voltage, temperature, or time. When hf operation is required, small diameter capacitors are often used in parallel to minimize the inductance [75]. The inductance of a capacitor is dominated by the area enclosed by the current path to and from the capacitor section [l]. Larger diameter capacitors may be constructed using special termination techniques to achieve a n inductance of x 2 nH [65], but the capacitance of such a unit is often so high as to prevent very hf operation [65]. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors have received criticism for being inductive, but are actually much lower in inductance per C V product than a conventional polymer film unit, due to the higher insulation electrical strength and permittivity of aluminum oxide. The capacitance of an electrolytic unit is usually so high, however, that its inductance manifests itself at a much lower frequency [6, 8,9,65].
ESL
An increase in the power generated inside the capacitor raises the temperature, which adversely affects the life of the capacitor. Maximum ripple current is determined by the ESR of the capacitor, the ambient temperature, the maximum operating temperature of the capacitor, and the type of heat dissipation available (conduction or convection). Ripple current capability increases with increasing CV product, which means that it decreases with increasing voltage rating for a given capacitor size. Ripple current is typically rated a t an elevated temperature, such as 85 or 105C. Since the ripple current is allowed to increase the capacitor% temperature by only x 20'C above the maximum ambient temperature rating of the device, the ripple current is derated to zero a t this excess temperature, and is increased to about twice the current capability at 25'C.
AC
Current
F
Voltmeter
1
I
1Generator
1o:t
-1
Voltmeter Capacitoi
U
i-
Isolation 6 Matching Tranrlormer
LEAKAGE CURRENT
current is the dc current flowing from a power supply through the capacitor after the capacitor dc voltage has stabilized [6]. This parameter may be read on some bridges, such as the GenRad 1864 Megohm meter. The reading is not taken until 3 to 5 min after the capacitor has been completely charged, to allow reasonable time for any oxide repair or any insulation absorption currents to decay. A longer time is allowed for capacitors which
Figure 43. Inductance measurement test set-up for mF class electrolytic capacitors [65].
EAKAGE
Capacitors with ripple current ratings x 35 A exist. At > 10 A, the contact methodology becomes critical, as ohmic contacts become a heat source. For screw terminals, torque and contact area are important. The use of
--
018
have not been charged for sometime [65]. Such capacitors are said to have been on shelf. Leakage currents may also be measured by reading the voltage across a 1 kCl resistor between a voltage source and the capacitor. The mV read corresponds to the /.LAof leakage current [65]. Also, a constant and flat dc voltage power source and a Keithley meter are routinely used for capacitor leakage current measurements. Leakage current is caused by dc conduction through the insulating medium (aluminum oxide) and reactions between the conductive electrolyte and the oxide. Leakage currents increase with increasing voltage, temperature, and capacitor age. Leakage current vs. temperature slope varies from device to device, but a rule of thumb is that it doubles for every 20C increase above 25C. Leakage current vs. voltage varies with different capacitors, but it often increases by a factor of 5 to 10 from 10% below rated voltage to 10% above rated voltage at 25C, and by a factor of 50 to 100% at 85 or 105OC [65]. Leakage current increases the internal self-heating power dissipation of the capacitor by
Life ratings for capacitors are usually expressed in terms of hours on charge a t rated dc voltage, a t an elevated maximum temperature, in the presence of a given frequency ripple current. As a general rule of thumb, this life is doubled for each 10C below this rated temperature a t which the device is operated. The failure mode of electrolytic capacitors may be either a n open or short circuit. A capacitor which builds excessive internal pressure will usually rupture through its safety vent. If this occurs during a thermal runaway situation, the inside of the capacitor may be expelled from its container. Leakage current, voltage, temperature, electrolyte gassing profile, time, internal volume available for expansion, and the seal integrity all influence the pressure internal to the capacitor [6,65]. Capacitor seals with a high degree of integrity often extend the life of a n electrolytic capacitor by preventing the drying out of the electrolyte, but such seals may not be beneficial when pressure is building up rapidly, such as when a temporary overvoltage condition exists. A capacitor which vents or dries out often fails in the electrically open mode. Loss of termination integrity between the capacitor terminals and the section tabs can occur if the tab weld is inferior or if the capacitors resistance to vibration is insufficient. This failure mode is, of course, an electrical open circuit. Oxide defects are usually healed by the electrolyte, but when such a defect is not healed rapidly enough, scintillation (sparking) can occur on the anode surface [6]. This situation can lead to a shorted condition, wherein the capacitor discharges partially or fully into itself. If this discharge occurs in a high-energy capacitor (>50 J), the container may be distorted or ruptured. An oxide breakdown and consequential short may be healed sometimes when the energy discharged into the faulty area is low or occurs at a slow rate; however, most often this healing is only temporary, and more trouble is encountered later in the life of the capacitor. Capacitor manufacturers implement techniques to detect scintillating capacitors during their production [65].
P = VdCIL
(28)
where v d , is the dc voltage across the capacitor and IL is the leakage current. This heating, if excessive, can drive the capacitor into thermal runaway [65]. The leakage current also directly impacts the life of the capacitor via electrolyte consumption (chemical breakdown) which reduces the amount of remaining electrolyte in service and increases internal pressure due to gas generation. The maximum allowable leakage current rating of a capacitor a t room temperature increases approximately linearly with the units rated CV product between midand high-CV products (0.1 to 10 C). The maximum allowable leakage current rating of a for low- and mid-CV products (< 0.1 C).
FAILURE MODES AND CAUSES

LECTROLYTIC capacitors used in applications where no voltage is applied for periods of months will exhibit high leakage current upon initial charging, especially when the units have earlier been subjected to high temperatures. Allowing the capacitors to reach rated voltage slowly in such situations will extend the expected life of the capacitors [65].
CONCLUSIONS
HERE exists a wide range of applications for both the filter and energy storage and energy discharge types ofcapacitors. Economy dictates that the design be optimized for each set of application requirements. Designs
919
must start by selecting the basic insulating materials and current carrying conductors; stress levels and mechanical features are then determined. Knowledge of the chemical and physical properties of the materials impacting the capacitor design gives the user an understanding of the degradation mechanisms: presently, the multifactor stress aging rates must still be determined empirically [65]. The development of new materials/insulating films, fluids, electrolytes, etc. for high temperature ac + dc filtering and energy discharge requirements demands very careful determination of the engineering scaling of multifactor stress aging of both materials and model capacitors in order for failure rate predictions to be made from accelerated life test data, without the benefit of wide service experience [6,65].
In closing, special thanks go to our technical typist, Mrs. J. Bennett, editorial assistant Ms. E. Chambers and my faculty colleague, Dr. R. Dollinger, without whose enthusiasm and tenacity this paper would still be in preparation. The editorial and proofing expertise of the scientific/technical writer Mrs. A. Sarjeant and E. Sargent for figure preparation are most gratefully acknowledged. The constructive comments made by the reviewers and the Journal Editor are most appreciated and are reflected in the paper. The author appreciates and acknowledges the assistance and advice of numerous of his other co-workers in the field with whom many stimulating and valuable conversations have been held on the subject of capacitor fundamentals, with special thanks to the Innovative Science and Technology Office of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Portions of this work were presented in the Keynote Address on capacitor technology a t the IEEE Electrical/Electronics Insulation and Coil Winding Symposium, Rosemont Exposition Center, Chicago, Illinois, 25-28 Sept., 1989.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
HE author would like t o express his deep appreciation t o the following members of the capacitor community, with whose assistance this review article was possible: Mr. J. Sevigny, K. Haskell, J. Ennis and their staff a t Maxwell Laboratories, who were kind enough t o provide figures and copies of the Maxwell report referenced, as well as a preprint of their chapter on Energy Storage Capacitors, appearing soon in a Handbook on Power Conditioning (TAB Professional and Reference Books). These documents formed the foundations for much of the discussions herein on high energy paper and polymer film energy discharge capacitors; for electrolytics, S. Parler and T. Reese (retired) of Sangamo contributed considerable information and shared the new ESL technique developed there for mF-class capacitors; the field of large multilayer ceramic capacitors for high power electronics is driven by Olean Advanced Products (a Division of AVX Corporation) and special thanks are due J . McLarney, J . Prymak and J . Maxwell of OAP for their contributions t o this very rapidly advancing technology of high power density ceramic capacitors; Dr. L. Mandelcorn and R. Miller of the Westinghouse Corporation shared with us their discoveries on low temperature partial discharge behavior as part of Westinghouse evaluation of capacitor impregnants for ac power factor correction capacitor technology; my close friend Bruce Hayworth (deceased-formerly the president of Capacitor Specialists, Inc.) wrote the first truly practical discourse on inductance measurement techniques for large energy discharge capacitors in his article How to Tell a nH from a pF, and it was adapted to form the foundation of that Section of this review paper.
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922
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Manuscript was received on 25 Jun 1990
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[66] J. Ennis, High Energy Capacitor Development, SDI-ISTO Space Power and Power Conditioning Institute Seminar (MLR-2518), SUNY/AB, Buffalo, New York, December 16, 1988.
l~ ~
[67] J . Sevigny (Chapter editor), Energy Storage Capacitors, preprint of Chapter in Handbook on Power Conditioning, W. J . Sarjeant and J . OLoughlin (editors), TAB Books, Inc. (to be published in 1991). [68] Z. Crasucki, H. F. Church, C. G. Garton, A New Explanation of Gas Evolution in Electrically Stressed Oil-Impregnated Paper Insulation, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol. 107, pp. 598-602, July 1960.

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IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 No. 5 , October 1000

The new Lexicon Websters Dictionary (1987) defines

0018-9367/90/1000-861$1.00 @ 1990 IEEE

Capacitance variation D1nlpalion factor Insulatlon rnistanci Tamperatura c o dI lcient 01 capacitance

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 No. 5, October 1990

GENERAL PROPERTIES OF CA PACIT O RS

-L Upper and Lower Melallic Eleclrodes Dieleclric Material

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 N o . 5 , October 1990

Note that both

E' are vectors [1,2,42].

-70 -40 -10

$120 110 100

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 No. 5, October 1990

2. Voltage. 3. Humidity. 4. Frequency. 5. Storage temperature and time.

A P PL ICAT ION- DRIVEN CA PACI TO R CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR INTERRELATIONSHIPS

N circuit applications, the capacitor is often subjected

PERCENT OF RATED DC VOLTAGE

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 N o . 5 , October 1990

capacitance stability and increasing internal losses with temperature [47].

LUMPED PARAMETER CAPACITOR MODEL

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 N o . 5 , October 1990

-60 -80 -100

io4 io5 lo6

X , a t frequency f is given as [l]

For a fixed permittivity E the reactance of the capacitor

At high frequencies, the inductive reactance component

and the magnitude of this impedance is

POWER AND DISSIPATION FACTOR

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 N o . 5 , October lQQ0

50 100 CAPACITOR VOLTAGE

-60-30 0 30 60 90 120 150

I E E E Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 No. 5 , October 1000

0.50 0.00 -100

TEMPERATURE Figure 13.

I E E E Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol.25 N o . 5 , October 1990

H IG H-l N D UCTANC E CAPACITORS

Size mm 143 143 143 143

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 No. 5, October 1990

LOW-IN D U CTAN C E CAPACITORS

VA RIA B L E- IN D U CTA N C E TECH NlQU E

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 N o . 5 , October 1990

10 Time, min. Figure 16.

M0 D EL CA PACIT0 R EVA L UAT I0 NS

ARCW BETWEEN TAB A H ) ELECTRODE

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 N o . 5 , October 1990

paper wicking, then the cost per unit capacitor volume is

FIXED ENERGY STORAGE CAPACITOR IMPULSE PERFORMANCE FACTORS

P RI NT E D/ I NT EG RAT ED C IRC U IT CHIPS

GENERAL PURPOSE CAPACITORS

IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation

Vol. 25 No. 5 , October 1990

,FILM 1 iFlLM 2 iFlLM 3