The Basics of Multilayer Chip Capacitors
A multilayer chip capacitor, which is abbreviated as MLCC, is a thin film capacitor that is constructed of several layers of conductors which are set apart by the dielectric material. The conductive layers are joined to the interconnect lands through conductive vias. The interconnect lands permit the capacitor to be added to a circuit. The multi layer capacitor can provide the ability to raise the capacitance while at the same time it can lower the inductance and the interconnect resistance. As an example of it’s use, the capacitor can be mounted near a processor circuit on a circuit board.
Multilayer ceramic chip capacitors have three main benefits:
- small size
- high capacity
- easily mounted
For those reasons, they are able to be used for various electronic devices and in high frequency circuits. In one example, they are often used a decoupling capacitors placed in the power supply circuits for LSI, which are chips with tens of thousands of transistors per chip.