A ceramic capacitor is a capacitor constructed of alternating layers of metal and ceramic, with the ceramic material acting as the dielectric. Depending on the dielectric, whether Class 1 or Class 2, the degree of temperature/capacity dependence varies. A ceramic capacitor often has (especially the class 2) high dissipation factor, high frequency coefficient of dissipation.
A ceramic capacitor is a two-terminal, non-polar device. The classical ceramic capacitor is the “disc capacitor”. This device pre-dates the transistor and was used extensively in vacuum-tube equipment (e.g., radio receivers) from c.a 1930 through the 1950s, and in discrete transistor equipment from the 1950s through the 1980s. As of 2007, ceramic disc capacitors are in widespread use in electronic equipment, providing high capacity & small size at low price compared to other low value capacitor types.
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