High power capacitors from thin layers of metal powder or metal sponge particles

Abstract

An anode (14, 208, 410) and/or cathode (12, 212, 420) of a capacitor has a large surface area. The high surface area of the anode is provided by forming the anode from a thin, electrically conductive layer (16) formed from metal particles (18) or an electrically conductive metallic sponge (416). These materials provide a porous structure with a large surface area of high accessibility. The particles are preferably directional or non-directional sponge particles of a metal, such as titanium. The conductive layer hasa dielectric film (36, 236, 414) on its surface, formed by anodizing the particle surfaces. The dielectric film has a combination of high dielectric constant and high dielectric strength. The cathode (12, 212, 420) of the capacitor is either a conventional solid material or, more preferably, has a large surface provided by forming the surface from a sponge or particles analogously to the anode. The high dielectric strengths obtainable from the capacitor allow for extreme miniaturization, making the capacitor particularly suited for integrated circuit applications.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.