What is a NPO Ceramic Capacitor?

NPO Ceramic Capacitors are single-layer ceramic capacitors made from a mixture of titanates.

A NPO ceramic capcitor is an ultrastable or temperature compensating capacitor. It is one of the most highly stable capacitors. It has very predictable temperature coefficients (TCs) and, in general, does not age with time.

NPO stands for negative-positive 0 ppm/°C, meaning that for negative or positive shifts in temperature, the capacitance changes 0 part per million, meaning that it has a flat response across a wide range of temperatures; the capacitance of the NPO capacitor stays constant (at the same value) despite variations in temperature.

NPO ceramic capacitors are suited for applications where stability over a wide range of temperatures and a high Q are needed.

Filter networks and most circuits associated with tuning and timing, as well as various types of resonant circuits, generally require ultrastable capacitors. They are also very suitable for oscillator construction in order to compensate for frequency drift with temperature.