Electrical Characterization Of Glass, Teflon, And Tantalum Capacitors At High Temperatures

Dielectric materials and electrical components and devices employed in radiation fields and space environment are often exposed to elevated temperatures among other things. These systems must, therefore, withstand the high temperature exposure while still providing good electrical and other functional properties. In this work, experiments were carried out to evaluate glass, teflon, and tantalum capacitors for potential use in high temperature applications. The capacitors were characterized in terms of their capacitance and dielectric loss as a function of temperature up to 200/spl deg/C. At a given temperature, these properties were obtained in a frequency range of 50 Hz to 100 kHz. DC leakage current measurements were also performed in a temperature range from 20 to 200 /spl deg/C. The results obtained are discussed and conclusions are made concerning the suitability of the capacitors investigated for high temperature applications.