Capacitance multiplication

Article By:

Geiger, Randall L. Department of Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.

Last reviewed:November 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.106890

The generation of a capacitance which is some multiple of that of an actual capacitor. Capacitance multiplication circuits have an input impedance which is capacitive and which is proportional to that of an actual capacitor appearing somewhere in the circuit. In most applications, capacitance multiplication circuits are used to generate an equivalent input capacitance which is much larger than that of the actual capacitor. One scenario where capacitance multiplication might prove useful is where a physical capacitor of a required capacitance may be too large, too expensive, or unavailable. A second is where the capacitor must be reasonably large and capable of handling bidirectional signals, thus precluding the direct use of widely available electrolytic capacitors and hence making practical the utilization of a much smaller nonelectrolytic capacitor in a capacitance multiplication circuit. See also: Capacitance

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