Claims
- 1. A high voltage capacitor comprising:
a substantially monolithic body of layers of dielectric material; and at least first, second and third conductive electrodes disposed on respectively different first, second and third layers of dielectric material within the body, the first and second electrodes being nonoverlapping with each other, but the first electrode overlapping the third electrode to form a first capacitor therebetween and third electrode overlapping the second electrode to form a second capacitor therebetween in a series circuit with the first capacitor.
- 2. The high voltage capacitor of claim 1 wherein each of the first capacitor and the second capacitor has a voltage breakdown threshold of about 1,500 volts to provide the high voltage capacitor with a voltage breakdown threshold of about 3,000 volts.
- 3. The high voltage capacitor of claim 1 wherein the first layer of dielectric material separates the first electrode and the second electrode; and the second layer of dielectric material separates the second electrode and the third electrode.
- 4. The high voltage capacitor of claim 3 wherein the second layer of dielectric material has a thickness greater than a thickness of the first layer.
- 5. The high voltage capacitor of claim 4 wherein the thickness of the second layer is in a range of about 4-10 times the thickness of the first layer.
- 6. The high voltage capacitor of claim 1 wherein the dielectric material is a ceramic material.
- 7. The high voltage capacitor of claim 1 wherein the dielectric material is a plastic material.
- 8. The high voltage capacitor of claim 7 wherein the plastic material is selected from the group consisting essentially of a MYLAR plastic material and a PET plastic material.
- 9. The high voltage capacitor of claim 8 wherein the first electrode, the second electrode and the third electrode are made from a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum and silver.
- 10. A high voltage capacitor comprising:
a substantially monolithic body of layers of dielectric material; a conductive first contact disposed externally on the body; a conductive second contact disposed externally on the body; a conductive first electrode electrically connected to the first contact and disposed on a first layer of dielectric material within the body; a conductive second electrode electrically connected to the second contact and disposed on a second layer of dielectric material different from the first layer, the second electrode being nonoverlapping with the first electrode; and a conductive third electrode not electrically connected to the first contact and the second contact, the third electrode being disposed on a third layer of dielectric material different from the first layer and the second layer and overlapping the first electrode and the second electrode.
- 11. The high voltage capacitor of claim 10 further comprising a circuit comprising a first capacitor formed between the first electrode and the third electrode, and a second capacitor formed between the second electrode and the third electrode and connected in series with the first capacitor.
- 12. A high voltage capacitor comprising:
layers of dielectric material forming a substantially monolithic body having an external surface; a conductive first contact formed over one portion of the external surface; a conductive second contact formed over another portion of the external surface; overlapping first electrodes electrically connected to the first contact and disposed on respective first layers of the dielectric material; overlapping second electrodes electrically connected to the second contact and disposed on respective second layers of the dielectric material different from the first layers, none of the second electrodes overlap any of the first electrodes; and overlapping third electrodes not electrically connected to either the first contact or the second contact and disposed on respective third layers of the dielectric material different from the first layers and the second layers, each of the third electrodes overlapping at least one of the first electrodes and at least one of the second electrodes.
- 13. The high voltage capacitor of claim 12 further comprising a plurality of circuits, each circuit comprising a first capacitor formed between one of the first electrodes and one of the third electrodes, and a second capacitor formed between one of the second electrodes and one of the third electrodes and connected in series with the first capacitor.
- 14. A high voltage capacitor comprising:
layers of dielectric material forming a substantially monolithic body having an external surface; a first electrode contact formed over one portion of the external surface; a second electrode contact formed over another portion of the external surface; a first electrode electrically connected to the first electrode contact and disposed on respective first layer of the dielectric material; a second electrode not electrically connected to either the first electrode contact or the second electrode contact, the second electrode being disposed on a second layer of the dielectric material different from the first layer, and the second electrode being substantially nonoverlapping with the first electrode; a third electrode not electrically connected to either the first electrode contact or the second electrode contact, the third electrode disposed on a third layer of the dielectric material different from the first layer and the second layer, and the third electrode overlapping the first electrode and the second electrode; and a fourth electrode electrically connected to the second electrode contact and disposed on a fourth layer of the dielectric material different from the first layer, the second layer and the third layer, the fourth electrode overlapping the second electrode and being substantially nonoverlapping with the first electrode and the third electrode.
- 15. The high voltage capacitor of claim 14 further comprising a circuit comprising a first capacitor formed between the first electrode and the third electrode, a second capacitor formed between the second electrode and the third electrode and connected in series with the first capacitor, and a third capacitor formed between the second electrode and the fourth electrode and connected in series with the first capacitor and the second capacitor.
- 16. The high voltage capacitor of claim 15 wherein each of the first capacitor, the second capacitor and the third capacitor has a voltage breakdown threshold of about 1,500 volts to provide the high voltage capacitor with a voltage breakdown threshold of about 4,500 volts.
- 17. A high voltage capacitor comprising:
layers of dielectric material forming a substantially monolithic body having an external surface; a first electrode contact formed over one portion of the external surface; a second electrode contact formed over another portion of the external surface; overlapping first electrodes electrically connected to the first electrode contact and disposed on respective first layers of the dielectric material; overlapping second electrodes not electrically connected to either the first electrode contact or the second electrode contact, the second electrodes being disposed on respective second layers of the dielectric material different from the first layers, and the second electrodes being substantially nonoverlapping with the first electrodes; overlapping third electrodes not electrically connected to either the first electrode contact or the second electrode contact, the third electrodes disposed on respective third layers of the dielectric material different from the first layers and the second layers, and the third electrodes overlapping at least one of the first electrodes and at least one of the second electrodes; and overlapping fourth electrodes electrically connected to the second electrode contact and disposed on respective fourth layers of the dielectric material different from the first layers, the second layers and the third layers, the fourth electrodes overlapping at least one of the second electrodes and being substantially nonoverlapping with the first electrodes and the third electrodes.
- 18. The high voltage capacitor of claim 17 further comprising a plurality of circuits, each circuit comprising a first capacitor formed between the first electrode and the third electrode, a second capacitor formed between the second electrode and the third electrode and connected in series with the first capacitor, and a third capacitor formed between the second electrode and the fourth electrode and connected in series with the first capacitor and the second capacitor.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/136,789, filed May 3, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, which, in turn, is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/865,816, filed May 25, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,545,854.
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10136789 |
May 2002 |
US |
Child |
10413015 |
Apr 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09865816 |
May 2001 |
US |
Child |
10136789 |
May 2002 |
US |