Capacitor test apparatus and method

An apparatus for measuring the capacitance of a capacitor under test comprising,

• exciter circuit means for providing a time-varying excitation signal,
• computing circuit means including an amplifier having an input summing junction and an output, including an input resistor connected to said summing junction, and including means for connecting the capacitor under test between said summing junction and said output whereby said computing circuit means integrates the excitation signal to form a measurement signal,
• peak detector means connected to peak detect said measurement signal to form a peak detected signal having a magnitude proportional to the capacitance of said capacitor under test.

A method for measuring the capacitance of a capacitor under test comprising the steps of:

• generating a time-varying excitation signal, applying said excitation signal to the summing junction of an amplifier connected to the capacitor under test to provide a measurement signal having an amplitude proportional to the capacitance of said capacitor under test,
• peak detecting said measurement signal to provide a measurement of the capacitance of said capacitor under test.

A method for measuring the capacitance of a capacitor under test comprising the steps of:

• generating a time-varying excitation signal,
• integrating said excitation signal with a computing circuit formed by a resistor and the capacitor under test connected to the summing junction of amplifier to form a measurement signal,
• peak detecting said measurement signal to form a peak detected signal having a magnitude proportional to the capacitance of said capacitor under test.