Low Distortion Chip Capacitors

Use Al electrolytics for your audio filters. The distortion will make it sound like toobs :o

Disclaimer: For those who haven't taken their medications today, the above is a joke as indicated by the ":o".

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_____ That would be a big money earner ;-) ...Jim Thompson

Thanks for that confirmation, Fred. The most critical measurements I've made recently have been in the 1-10MHz range on LC filters, where I see distortion products down in the -145dBc region with +20dBm excitation. That's low enough that I didn't care about it in the design that was commercialized, so I didn't bother to try to identify exactly WHERE the distortion was coming from, but knew that the C0G caps were not a significant issue. Relays were a distinctly more significant source of distortion.

Cheers, Tom

For another application I tested some low value NP0s (27p/3kV and

Have 2 caps in series, bias the mid point through a 1G resistor and test the series cap string with a 4275A @ 1MHz. The 27p @3kV (the limit of my HV supply) and the 100p/500V at 1kV (yes!) all had under 0.001% variation (4275A limit resolution)... so that made for under 100dB THD at full swing... So the THD in real use has to be lower than 10^-5*(Vsignal/Vrated)^2 and probably lower than 10^-5*(Vsignal/Vrated)^3 since distortion is certainly of odd order. All those figures can easily be pretty low...

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I assume you don't have D2PAKs on the same PCB etc. For board with just a few other small parts it would be easier to get the process right.

Also: I never use Panasonic parts because they keep changing their minds about what ones they want to make.

He would just use a foot pedal from an old sewing machine.

Perhaps they (like you ) do not know the meaning or definition of distortion? One starts with a *linear* system and then adds the one suspected part and measure generated harmonics. Simple but not necessarily easy... But use of "low distortion" (or better), if not backed up by some specified limit (and perhaps a test method to use), is useless garbage. But then again, for audiophools...

..(gasp!) quick...gimmie copper free oxygen..(gasp!)..

Sorry, electrolytics are not exactly linear either..

...much better.

Being in France I buy them from Farnell which stock them. Mouser has them but no stock and Digikey has the Vishay/BC Components 2% in 5mm pitch and Panasonic - ECQs 1% in 5-7.5mm pitch both stocked.

It could be worse. (could be better too...)