Newbie question. just ordered a few components from Digikey, one of which was a non-polarized smt ceramic chip cap: CAP 4.7uF 10V CERAMIC X5R 1206 i'm using it in a typical astable 555 timer circuit...with a diode across R2 for duty cycles
No, it will work fine. The polarized bit is a limitation of the capacitor, not a requirement of the circuit.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
-- "it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
I read in sci.electronics.design that Leon Sorokin wrote (in ) about '555 astable w/non- polarized timing cap?', on Sat, 18 Dec 2004:
You can always replace polarized caps by non-polarized (unless the design is VERY flaky and depends on leakage current).
-- Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only. The good news is that nothing is compulsory. The bad news is that everything is prohibited. http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk
thanks guys,
The only advantage of a polarized capacitor is size. In other words polarized capacitors such as electrolytics and tantalums have a higher capacitance/volume ratio for a given voltage. However non-polarized ceramics would be preferred since they have better electrical properties. The X7R implies a relatively high temperature characteristic versus a type called NPO which has a much lower temperature characteristic. Never-the-less unless you are looking for precision and stability better than 10% or so you will be fine.
ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.