How To Measure Capacitance Of Ceramic Capacitor

When measuring low capacitance values the relative mode can be used to remove the capacitance of the test leads.

How to measure capacitance of ceramic capacitor.

The ceramic capacitor shows number 103. To carry out this test you would have to detach the capacitor from the circuit board and completely discharge it. We can not directly measure capacitance with ordinary multimeters like that we have shown on article on multimeter for dummies. Then disconnect the capacitor set the multimeter to measure capacitance and press the rel button if your multimeter has one.

Please check out the manufacturer and series and confirm in the datasheet for your specific capacitor to confirm what measuring frequency and voltage are needed. 10 6 10 to the power 6 pico farad pf is equal to 1 micro farad uf. Measurement requirement measuring frequency and voltage are important to measure the right value of ceramic capacitors. Please see the attached reference material basics of capacitors lesson 7 measurement method for the electrostatic capacitance of ceramic capacitors which provides an overview of capacitance measurements.

So this capacitor s capacitance is 10 nf. Here is how to read ceramic capacitor values. The third digit 3 shows multiplier 10 3. The first two digits are significant figures it is written as it is.

Some multimeters offer a relative rel mode. Values are normally printed on capacitors in micro farad uf with voltage. To measure capacitance you ll need a digital multimeter which you can pick up at your local hardware store. A simple and direct method for measuring esr is proposed in 3 in which the esr is determined directly by the ratio of the capacitor s ripple voltage to ripple current.

Please check the detailed specs sheet for the capacitance measuring conditions. So the total capacitance is 10 10 3 which is equal to 10000 pf. You can do this by connecting it to a led or powerful resistor. First turn off the power to the capacitor and connect a resistor across the terminals to drain the charge.

Power dissipated in esr causes the capacitor s temperature to increase and its capacitance and lifetime to decrease. Discharge the capacitor as described in the warning above.