Characterization and Modeling of Ceramic Capacitor Losses under Large Signal Operating Conditions

Ceramic capacitors offer reliable and dense energy storage in power conversion applications. However, in order to effectively incorporate these devices in a design, it is important to have an accurate model of losses for the conditions under which the devices will be used. Small signal loss parameters at low bias voltage are frequently provided by the manufacturer, but the correlation between these data and losses exhibited under realistic large signal excitation has not been explored in detail. This work aims to provide a method for measuring capacitor losses under realistic operating conditions, using a calorimetric approach to provide an accurate measurement of losses under large signal excitation.