I was just chatting with a co-worker about acceptable margin on rated
voltages for
capacitors, and I found myself effectively regurgitating the common wisdom
on that:

1. Tantalum capacitors are touchy and should be well derated (probably by t=
o
50%
of their stated value).
2. Aluminum and ceramic capacitors are less touchy and can be used at close=
r
to
the stated value but still should be derated (say, to 75%).
3. "Name-brand" capacitors will perform better than no-name types.

Note that this is effectively only for power supply bypass type
applications.

It occurs to me that this information has just kind of...appeared in my
head,
aggregated from many conversations over the years.

It also occurs to me that capacitor manufacturers have likely heard these
rules
of thumb as well.

So, I'm wondering- what sort of test data exists out there to back this up?
Has
there been any critical study of this? Any articles regarding it?

Mike H
--=20
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