[Elecraft] Capacitor Question

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

I believe the full name is "Monolithic Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor", JB,
often "Chip Monolithic Capacitor" or "Monolithic Capacitor" for "short" <G>.
It's a high value capacitor for its size, utilizing a complicated
manufacturing process that involves stacking up many conductive plates
separated by a block of ceramic in a sort of "Dagwood sandwich" (Anyone
remember Dagwood? You Old Timers!!) Anyway, it's many layers of "plates" and
dielectric in one monolithic structure. The plates are tied together with
metal caps at each end of the chip. 

I believe they came about as pressure for high-value caps appeared in small
surface-mount packages used for bypassing, etc. The small size was very
attractive for common leaded parts too, such as you see in the Elecraft
rigs. These leaded caps are actually surface-mount chips to which leads have
been attached, then the assembly is dipped in epoxy. In the case of the
Elecraft caps, they are generally blue. I've got some brown ones too. I'm
not sure if the color means anything. 

That's why it's important not to abuse the caps in the Elecraft kits, by the
way. They are quite strong, but if enough epoxy gets chipped away and the
leads pulled a bit too hard forming them, you can end up pulling a lead
right out of the cap!

Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----

I am working on sorting the parts for my RF board on the K1 - I have a
general question that I cannot seem to find a "general" answer to on the
WWW.

What exactly is a "Monolithic" Capacitor and what does that really mean and
what are the advantages of such a cap?

Thanks for the info!

JB

Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud. After a while,
you realize the pig is enjoying it.

Cheers!

JB

John J. Bahun
Senior Software Engineer