What are Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors？

Aluminum  Electrolytic Capacitors use a liquid electrolyte and an oxide layer to store electrical energy. An aluminum electrolytic capacitor has two strips of aluminum foil. One is the positive anode and the other is the negative cathode. The strips are separated by a spacer soaked in the liquid electrolyte. The thin oxide layer on the anode serves as the dielectric, allowing the capacitor to achieve a high capacitance in a small form factor. These capacitors are ideal for space-constrained applications.

Applications of aluminum electrolytic capacitors

Aluminum electrolytic capacitors are used in filter circuits, such as in DC power supplies, converters, and links. How long they last depends on things like temperature, ripple current, and DC bias voltage. These can make them more likely to fail. In power converters, aluminum electrolytic capacitors are often the most vulnerable part. These capacitors are also used in energy storage, low-frequency bypassing, and coupling in amplifier circuits with frequencies below 100 kHz.