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Decoupling capacitor selection

R

Randall Nortman

Jan 1, 1970
0
I have to admit to being a bit ignorant about the various types of
capacitors available, for example NPO, X7R, etc. I believe these
abbreviations refer to the type of dielectric used, which influences
the properties of the capacitor. Can anybody point me to a key for
deciphering these codes, preferrably with some information on what the
relevant properties of the different types are?

And what is the best type of capacitor/dielectric for basic power
supply decoupling/bypassing on digital logic ICs (e.g.,
microcontrollers) with clock speeds up to about 50MHz. I have often
seen datasheets recommend two different types of capacitor in parallel
-- is this to eliminate harmonics that would be present with only one
type? If I have a single big 47uF capacitor between the Vcc and
ground planes somewhere on the board, and one 0.1uF capacitor at every
Vcc pin, does this solve the problem? What dielectric types or other
specs should each of those have?

I'm specifically looking for surface-mount chip-type capacitors, if
that matters. (I suppose the 47uF should be a can-style through-hole
capacitor, presumably electrolytic?)

Thanks for any advice,
 
J

John Woodgate

Jan 1, 1970
0
I read in sci.electronics.design that Randall Nortman
I have to admit to being a bit ignorant about the various types of
capacitors available, for example NPO, X7R, etc. I believe these
abbreviations refer to the type of dielectric used, which influences
the properties of the capacitor. Can anybody point me to a key for
deciphering these codes, preferrably with some information on what the
relevant properties of the different types are?

Any data sheet on ceramic capacitors will give you that sort of
information. Basically NPO dielectric doesn't change its properties with
temperature very much, but it has a lowish permittivity, so large value
caps are physically large. X7R properties vary a lot with temperature,
but it has higher permittivity. There are dielectrics worse than X7R for
variation; use only with great caution.
And what is the best type of capacitor/dielectric for basic power
supply decoupling/bypassing on digital logic ICs (e.g.,
microcontrollers) with clock speeds up to about 50MHz. I have often
seen datasheets recommend two different types of capacitor in parallel

Not directly in parallel, because this causes the smaller value to
resonate with the inductance of the larger one, creating a high
impedance just where it can cause most trouble. An exception is when the
values are VERY different , e.g. 100 uF and 100 pF.
-- is this to eliminate harmonics that would be present with only one
type?

Not harmonics, but frequencies in general that are above the
self-resonant frequency of the larger value. Once again, a good data
sheet will show you all this.
If I have a single big 47uF capacitor between the Vcc and
ground planes somewhere on the board, and one 0.1uF capacitor at every
Vcc pin, does this solve the problem?

Probably; the 47 uF doesn't want to be close up to one of the 0.1 uF,
because of the parallel resonance thing. A few cm of track between them
usually is OK.
What dielectric types or other
specs should each of those have?

The 47uF is likely to be an aluminium electrolytic. Choose a rated
voltage at least 20% above the voltage you will apply, but not 100%
higher. The 0.1uF can be X7R ceramic types, unless you are looking for a
wide temperature range. Data sheet, again.
I'm specifically looking for surface-mount chip-type capacitors, if
that matters. (I suppose the 47uF should be a can-style through-hole
capacitor, presumably electrolytic?)
You can get SMD aluminium electrolytics if you want.
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
I have to admit to being a bit ignorant about the various types of
capacitors available, for example NPO, X7R, etc. I believe these
abbreviations refer to the type of dielectric used, which influences
the properties of the capacitor. Can anybody point me to a key for
deciphering these codes, preferrably with some information on what the
relevant properties of the different types are?

You can chack cap manufacturers for specs, but for bypassing, it
doesn't matter. Any 0.1 uF ceramic cap is fine, with short leads or
surface mount preferred for fast logic.
And what is the best type of capacitor/dielectric for basic power
supply decoupling/bypassing on digital logic ICs (e.g.,
microcontrollers) with clock speeds up to about 50MHz. I have often
seen datasheets recommend two different types of capacitor in parallel
-- is this to eliminate harmonics that would be present with only one
type?

There's no reason to do that. Superstition.


If I have a single big 47uF capacitor between the Vcc and
ground planes somewhere on the board, and one 0.1uF capacitor at every
Vcc pin, does this solve the problem? What dielectric types or other
specs should each of those have?

That sounds fine. Dielectric type doesn't matter. If you have a
multilayer board with solid Vcc and ground planes, you need fewer
caps, one per each 2-8 chips maybe. I know people who don't use
bypasses at all, and their boards work, too.
I'm specifically looking for surface-mount chip-type capacitors, if
that matters. (I suppose the 47uF should be a can-style through-hole
capacitor, presumably electrolytic?)

Yes, one buggish aluminum cap is good for low-frequency load steps and
general damping. Don't use tantalums... they explode.

Everybody has their own strong opinions on bypassing, because almost
anything you do will work.

John
 
R

Richard H.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Randall said:
And what is the best type of capacitor/dielectric for basic power
supply decoupling/bypassing on digital logic ICs (e.g.,
microcontrollers) with clock speeds up to about 50MHz.

FYI, something I picked up from reading on the subject ... when
selecting a bypass capacitor value, rise time is the key variable (not
the clock speed). The significance here being that the device may run
at a "slower" clock, but have a rise time that's characteristic of a
much faster clock. I gather the implication being that the fast rise
time requires a fast change of current into the device.

Perhaps someone can comment on this approach, and how it changes
considering that:
a) rise times are only stated for the outputs (which I gather might use
a different technology from the guts of the chip)
b) rise time internally could be faster than the output rise times,
especially for chips that use many internal clock cycles per instruction
or are clocked slower than rated (i.e., outputs would be able to
transition less often and might have slower rise times as a result)

I'm specifically looking for surface-mount chip-type capacitors, if
that matters. (I suppose the 47uF should be a can-style through-hole
capacitor, presumably electrolytic?)

You can get SMT electrolytics. They're mini cans with pads on the
bottom instead of leads. Recommendations I see suggest placing a larger
electrolytic where the power comes into the board, to offset any effects
from the connecting cable.

Richard
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Randall,

X7R is fine for that purpose. Just don't select the smallest possible
size capacitor for a particular uF and voltage rating. It might have a
dielectric that is special and few or only one manufacturer. Many of us
have been burned by the Z5U shortage a couple decades ago. IIRC a
chemical plant somewhere in Asia suffered an explosion and shut down. In
consequence lots of SMT caps weren't available at all in large quantities.

As John mentioned you might want to reconsider if your 47uF is a
tantalum. Many of those have some rather unpleasant pathologies.
Electrolytics, too, in that they dry out over time but at least they
have a lower tendency to explode.

Regards, Joerg
 
P

Paul E. Bennett

Jan 1, 1970
0
John said:
Yes, one buggish aluminum cap is good for low-frequency load steps and
general damping. Don't use tantalums... they explode.

When you are dealing with a board full of expensive logic, using the axial
aluminium cased Tantalum Electrolytics, used in conjunction with a power
supply with crowbar or foldback facility, is a form of protection for the
logic devices. This is because the tantalum capacitor will go short circuit
if the power rail voltage rises above the voltage rating of the capacitor
by a small margin. Better to loose a tantalum than loose lots of expensive
logic. Of course, if you are using a power supply that does not foldback or
have crowbar shutdown then the tantalum will explode, as would any other
electrolytic under such circumstances.
Everybody has their own strong opinions on bypassing, because almost
anything you do will work.

It is worthwhile considering what your circuit is doing. I am sure that the
chip designers will have done something to give the best possible power
rail performance inside their device. The chip datasheet might even make
some reccommendations regarding proper decoupling (so worth looking up in
case they do).
FYI, something I picked up from reading on the subject ... when
selecting a bypass capacitor value, rise time is the key variable (not
the clock speed). The significance here being that the device may run
at a "slower" clock, but have a rise time that's characteristic of a
much faster clock. I gather the implication being that the fast rise
time requires a fast change of current into the device.

It is, essentially, the di/dt slope that becomes the major headache. That
is why you need decoupling capacitors that are suited to the application at
hand. Fortunately, the selection can be done with a fairly broad brush
approach. Important factors can be ACR (yes, even for decoupling capacitors
in high frequency/high slew rate systems) and self inductance.
Perhaps someone can comment on this approach, and how it changes
considering that:
a) rise times are only stated for the outputs (which I gather might use
a different technology from the guts of the chip)

Let the chip designer worry about inside the chip. You will find that the
I/O pins are usually heavier duty than anything they have done inside.
Check the chip datasheet for reccommendations about decoupling.
b) rise time internally could be faster than the output rise times,
especially for chips that use many internal clock cycles per instruction
or are clocked slower than rated (i.e., outputs would be able to
transition less often and might have slower rise times as a result)

Inside the chip, even if the rise times are faster, the currents on the
silicon are much less. It is a combination of current and speed of change
that pulls the bigger spikes.

--
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Paul E. Bennett ....................<email://[email protected]>
Forth based HIDECS Consultancy .....<http://www.amleth.demon.co.uk/>
Mob: +44 (0)7811-639972
Tel: +44 (0)1235-811095
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D

David Brown

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joerg said:
Hello Randall,

X7R is fine for that purpose. Just don't select the smallest possible
size capacitor for a particular uF and voltage rating. It might have a

I would tend to think of it the other way round - pick the smallest
package you are happy working with (0805 works well, or 0603 for higher
density) and then find the largest capacitance value in that package in
your voltage, price and availability range. If you are doing high speed
stuff, aim for low ER dialectics.

The frequency response of a capacitor is mainly dependant on its
dialectic and its package, not the capacitance. So there is no
advantage in using a mixture of small capacitors - that idea is mainly a
hangover from the old through-hole days when the packages were
significantly different. As a rule of thumb, 100 nF caps work fine for
bypassing - there is seldom need to go lower.

As for the number you need, it depends on the type of components you
use, their speeds and current requirements, and the quality of your
power and ground routing. If you have good routing (power planes, or at
least polygons and thick tracks), then you don't need as many - there is
certainly no requirement for one cap per VCC pin. If your power routing
is not so solid, add a few more capacitors, and scatter them around the
card.

In addition, you need bulk capacitors as part of your power supply,
which are normally placed near the supply regulators or power
connectors. If you have a lot of high power fast components (such as
fpgas, or fast micros or memory), you might also want a few local bulk
capacitors of around 10uF here and there to reduce the size of the
low-frequency currents back to the power supply.

But as other posters have said, everyone has their own theories. Unless
you are talking about many hundreds of MHz, or very high resolution
analogue, there is a great variety of methods for successful decoupling
capacitors.

David
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
I would tend to think of it the other way round - pick the smallest
package you are happy working with (0805 works well, or 0603 for higher
density) and then find the largest capacitance value in that package in
your voltage, price and availability range. If you are doing high speed
stuff, aim for low ER dialectics.

Why? The plate and contact geometry determine ESL, not the dielectric.

John
 
J

John Woodgate

Jan 1, 1970
0
I read in sci.electronics.design that John Larkin
Why? The plate and contact geometry determine ESL, not the dielectric.

The dielectric determines the distance between terminations, for a given
dielectric thickness set by mechanical strength issues, and that
determines the inductance.
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
I read in sci.electronics.design that John Larkin


The dielectric determines the distance between terminations, for a given
dielectric thickness set by mechanical strength issues, and that
determines the inductance.

In real life, there's hardly any difference in esl between caps of a
given size. All 0805's are around 0.7 nH.

John
 
J

John Woodgate

Jan 1, 1970
0
I read in sci.electronics.design that John Larkin
In real life, there's hardly any difference in esl between caps of a
given size. All 0805's are around 0.7 nH.
YES, that's because the inductance is determined by the distance between
the terminations. One company now makes 0508 caps, with correspondingly
lower inductance.
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello David,
I would tend to think of it the other way round - pick the smallest
package you are happy working with (0805 works well, or 0603 for higher
density) and then find the largest capacitance value in that package in
your voltage, price and availability range. ...

That can be a recipe for trouble. Mostly in the form of purchasing guys
running down the hallway towards your office because they can't get
enough of the caps or the things went on allocation. If you max out the
capacitance versus size factor at a given voltage the number of
available manufacturers can shrink dramatically. Even down to one, and
occasionally down to zero ...

Regards, Joerg
 
P

Paul Keinanen

Jan 1, 1970
0
In real life, there's hardly any difference in esl between caps of a
given size. All 0805's are around 0.7 nH.

The OP was thinking about a system with clock frequencies up to 50
MHz. In a 50 MHz square wave, there is a strong harmonic at 150 MHz.
At 150 MHz, the 0.7 nH would represent a 0.7 ohm inductive reactance.

A wire (or PCB track) would have an inductance about 1 nH/mm, thus the
inductive reactance at 150 MHz would be 1 ohm/mm of PCB track.

Since badly decoupled boards work after all, the chips must tolerate
much larger voltage dips than specified :).

Paul
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
The OP was thinking about a system with clock frequencies up to 50
MHz. In a 50 MHz square wave, there is a strong harmonic at 150 MHz.
At 150 MHz, the 0.7 nH would represent a 0.7 ohm inductive reactance.

A wire (or PCB track) would have an inductance about 1 nH/mm, thus the
inductive reactance at 150 MHz would be 1 ohm/mm of PCB track.

Since badly decoupled boards work after all, the chips must tolerate
much larger voltage dips than specified :).

Yes. The other thing that makes fast boards work is the capacitance
between the pcb planes, which handle the fast stuff. The bypass caps
just help out on the slower domains. On a decent multilayer board, it
doesn't much matter where you put the bypass caps.

John
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Paul,
Since badly decoupled boards work after all, the chips must tolerate
much larger voltage dips than specified :).

They might until some day a glitch happens because this time bits 2, 4
and 7 were flipping simultaneously which they usually don't ...

Regards, Joerg
 
D

David Brown

Jan 1, 1970
0
John said:
Why? The plate and contact geometry determine ESL, not the dielectric.

John

Perhaps I should have said "type of capacitor", rather than just the
dielectric. In my (admittedly limited) understanding, the dielectric
does affect the ESR, but that may be indirectly - with different
dielectrics, the capacitor may be built physically differently (perhaps
more or less compact vertically, for instance). I think ESL is
dominated by the leads and connections (which also affect ESR).

Either way, when doing high speed decoupling, you'll want to look at
capacitors with lower ESR and ESL. You might decide it is cheaper and
easier with several more standard capacitors, but it is certainly
something to think about.
 
D

David Brown

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joerg said:
Hello David,



That can be a recipe for trouble. Mostly in the form of purchasing guys
running down the hallway towards your office because they can't get
enough of the caps or the things went on allocation. If you max out the
capacitance versus size factor at a given voltage the number of
available manufacturers can shrink dramatically. Even down to one, and
occasionally down to zero ...

That's always important (and often underestimated by developers...).
But that's why I wrote "in your voltage, price and *availability* range" :)

mvh.,

David
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello David,
That's always important (and often underestimated by developers...). But
that's why I wrote "in your voltage, price and *availability* range" :)

Yes, then you should be fine. But the availability range can change
suddenly and without notice. Remember the days when those small Z5U were
all the rage and suddenly this ceramic material became scarce? I forgot
the details but IIRC a chemical plant in Asia went kablouie. The guys
that had settled for the larger X7R caps could continue to sleep at night.

Regards, Joerg
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello David,
Either way, when doing high speed decoupling, you'll want to look at
capacitors with lower ESR and ESL. You might decide it is cheaper and
easier with several more standard capacitors, but it is certainly
something to think about.

What mostly determines the quality of decoupling is placement strategy
and traces to the chip pins. I have seen boards where they had a nice
cap next to each chip but then ran a teeny trace to the pin, whatever
the default of the layout program was.

Regards, Joerg
 
J

John Popelish

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joerg said:
What mostly determines the quality of decoupling is placement strategy
and traces to the chip pins. I have seen boards where they had a nice
cap next to each chip but then ran a teeny trace to the pin, whatever
the default of the layout program was.

Even if you get the cap up close to the pin, and connected with a
trace as wide as the capacitor, you still need a low inductance via to
the power layer. I think it is a good idea to use two vias, one on
each side of the cap pad (as close as is allowed) and angled a bit
toward the other end, to get the best use of the capacitor.
 
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