[sdiy] Bypass caps: Tantalum or Ceramic?

[patchell]

    They actually do two different jobs.  You want for the most part a
cap that has good high frequency performance.  For this, you need a
ceramic cap, generally between .01uF to .1uF (I use .1uF).

    Now, you should also have, in general, a couple of good low
frequency bypass caps on the board as well.  I generally ignore this,
but still....

    Tantalum caps have their own set of problems, as compared to
aluminum electrolytics.  Tants seem to have a nasty habit of
spontaineously shorting sometimes.  Not very often, but enough that it
can be anoying.  Al Electrolytics have the nasty habbit of drying out
when there is a lot of heat.  I have experienced this as well.  Of
course, these are just my opinions....

Jim Johnson wrote:

> So what do most folks prefer for bypass caps: tantalum or ceramic?
>
> Jim Johnson
> Metaphoric Software
> -------------------
> Makers of Techno Toys
> Software for Electronic Music
> http://www.technotoys.com
> info at technotoys.com

--
 -Jim
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