An electrolytic capacitor is a type of capacitor that uses an electrolyte to achieve a larger capacitance than
other capacitor types. An electrolyte is a liquid or gel containing a high concentration of ions.
Almost all electrolytic capacitors are polarized, which means that the voltage on the positive terminal must
always be greater than the voltage on the negative terminal.
The benefit of large capacitance in electrolytic capacitors comes with several drawbacks as well.
Among these drawbacks are large leakage currents, value tolerances, equivalent series resistance and a
limited lifetime.
Electrolytic capacitors can be either wet-electrolyte or solid polymer. They are commonly made of tantalum
or aluminum, although other materials may be used.
Super capacitors are a special subtype of electrolytic capacitors, also called double-layer electrolytic
capacitors, with capacitances of hundreds and thousands of farads.
This article will be based on aluminum electrolytic capacitors. These have a typical capacitance between 1µF
to 47mF and an operating voltage of up to a few hundred volts DC.
Aluminum electrolytic capacitors are found in many applications such as power supplies, computer
motherboards and many domestic appliances.
Since they are polarized, they may be used only in DC circuits.