multilayer ceramic chip capacitor (PCB) (MLCC)
Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are a further development of ceramic capacitors. Compared to all other capacitors, they are characterized by a much more compact design. The capacitance-to-volume ratio is many times higher than that of tantalum capacitors or film capacitors.
Compared with film capacitors, multilayer ceramic capacitors are 50 times more compact, and compared with tantalum capacitors they are characterized by lower electrical losses. In addition, they are non-polarized, have a smaller impedance, very small ESR values for the equivalent series resistance and high reliability.
In construction, multilayer ceramic capacitors correspond to normal ceramic capacitors. They are built up chip-like as SMD components for on- board assembly and can consist of a thousand or more extremely thin layers, with overall heights of only 2.5 mm. The classification of MLCC capacitors into EIA classes is used for selection. In contrast to normal ceramic capacitors, the capacitance range is in the nano- and microfarad range up to several hundred microfarads (µF).
MLCC capacitors are also used as overvoltage protection. They are available as protection capacitors in small designs for voltages up to 5 kV.