Ceramic:
These offer low cost and high capacitance in a small physical size. Normally there are two types, the ‘High Stability Temperature Compensating’ type and the ‘Bypass and Coupling’ type. The former for use in resonant circuit and filter applications, with a value largely independent of voltage and frequency. The latter is for use in less critical applications, as they are less stable and have non-linear temperature characteristics and are somewhat voltage dependent.Polyester:
These type offer good stability, a large range of values at low cost, and are the most widely used capacitor for general purpose.Polycarbonate:
These have a low temperature coefficient, low dielectric loss at high frequency and excellent temperature stability characteristics.Polystyrene:
These offer tight tolerance and are highly stable; making them suitable for very stable tuned circuits and oscillators.Polypropylene:
This type has a very low dielectric loss and are particularly suitable in audio circuits and sample-and-hold circuits.Mylar:
This is the Du Pont tradename for polyester. They usually have an aluminium film deposit on the dielectric and are called metallised polyester.
