Supercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors and electric double layer capacitors (EDLC), are capacitors with capacitance values greater than any other capacitor type available today. Supercapacitors are breakthrough energy storage and delivery devices that offer millions of times more capacitance than traditional capacitors.
Supercapacitors are ideally suited for pulse power applications, due to the fact the energy storage is not a chemical reaction, the charge/discharge behavior of the supercapacitor is efficient. Supercapacitors are utilized as temporary energy sources in many applications where immediate power availability may be interrupted.
Supercapacitor solutions are sized to provide the appropriate amount of ride through time until the primary backup power source becomes available. For applications requiring power for only short periods of time or is acceptable to allow short charging time before use, supercapacitors can be used as the primary power source.
Supercapacitors are based on a carbon technology. The carbon technology used in these capacitors creates a very large surface area with an extremely small separation distance.
The life of supercapacitors will double for every 10°C decrease in temperature or voltage by 0.1V. Supercapacitors operated at room temperature can have life expectancies of several years compared to operating the capacitors at their maximum rated temperature. L1= Load life rating of the super capacitor (typically 1000 hours at rated temperature).
Supercapacitors have such large capacitance values that standard measuring equipment cannot be used to measure the capacity of these capacitors. Capacitance is measured per the following method: Charge capacitor for 30 minutes at rated voltage. Discharge capacitor through a constant current load. Measure voltage drop between V1 to V2.
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