These standard ceramic 0.1uf capacitors are perfect for your next circuit project!  Small and the through-hole type, they are super easy to work with and very reliable.

Tutorial for Beginners

New to electronics and not sure where to start?  It's good that you found this page because you can learn one of the most fundamental things about printed circuit board design and that is, how to make sure your ICs (Integrated Circuits!) get enough current when they need it.  This is especially important for high speed digital ICs.

Now that you're hooked, you must be wondering what we are babbling about since there can't be much to say about a 0.1uF capacitor.  Well, that's why we're babbling.  It's about time someone explained in plain English why engineers put 0.1uF capacitors next to every IC on the PCBs they design.

First, it is necessary to understand the basics of capacitors.  We're going to do this in the most basic way, so that you don't get scared off by math equations.  All you have to know is you cannot change the voltage across a capacitor instantaneously, however, you can change the current instantaneously.  One way to think of it is capacitors slow down voltage and they make current available.  And guess what?  Integrated circuits need current, so I think you see where this is headed!

A digital circuit in is an instantaneous current hog.  Every time the digital circuit performs a task, it is demanding instanteous current, as if it is screaming, "Give me current NOW!!".  Yet, all circuits prefer a very steady power supply voltage.  The solution?  Place a 0.1uF ceramic capacitor directly across the power terminals of the IC.  The IC gets the instantaneous current it needs and yet, because the voltage cannot change instantaneously due to the presence of the capacitor, the voltage stays rock-steady.

If you think you will be saving money by blowing off these capacitors, you are so very wrong.  You will waste so much time trying to figure out why your project fails randomly, you'll end up just throwing it in the garbage.  The problems you can have by not having these capacitors are so varied and extensive, it is simply not worth it to leave them out.

Why use expensive ceramic capacitors instead of the cheaper electrolytic type?  Well, if you want your circuit to last a long time and not cause a fire because you didn't include a power fuse, then we emphasize the use of the ceramic kind.  If you are making millions of something and you don't expect it to be in use more than a year or two - go for it, save money and use electrolytic.  We know what you are thinking - thank you for explaining that.  You're welcome, we understand it is confusing.

Purchase Information

Buy one capacitor for each IC in your design!

 

 

 

 

Technical Details

Each capacitor is coded 104, 0.1uF value, -20%/+80% tolerance 50V max voltage.  The wide tolerance (-20%/+80%) means it would not be wise to use these in a precision analog circuit because the capacitor might actually be anywhere from 0.8uF to 0.18uF!

Documentation

0.1uF Datasheet

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0.1uF ceramic capacitors - 10 pack

  • $1.99