Electrolytics in RF (Q197E)

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Published: Tuesday, 08 September 2020 19:07

Written by Newton C. Braga

Can I use a 1 uF electrolytic capacitor instead of a ceramic capacitor in an RF circuit?

Capacitors are capacitors, that is, they must have only one capacitance in a circuit. In practice, they can add a very low resistance due to the terminals and an inductance due to other factors, however, they must be very low, especially in RF circuits. Thus, the electrolytic capacitors, being made with rolled metal sheets and insulators, behave like inductors and this affects their functioning in an RF circuit. In addition, they are polarized components. They should not be used.