Design, Modeling, and Fabrication of an Ultra-Thin Planar Capacitor

In this work, we present the design and fabrication process of an ultra-thin capacitor model, the "planar accordion capacitor." This capacitor, which meets the requirements of various fields, was developed at the Plasma and Energy Conversion Laboratory (LAPLACE) of the University Paul Sabatier-France. We used the interesting properties of embedded capacitor materials (ECM) to design this capacitor model. Its design is based on the original way of folding a ribbon of flexible ECM to realize several parallel capacitors on a small surface without connecting wires. The assembly is then subjected to thermocompression to form a single ultra-thin polymerized element. This process significantly increases the capacitance value and capacitance density, and reduces the dissipation factor. A prototype of an ultra-thin capacitor was successfully manufactured at LAPLACE, and meets the specifications of a buck converter for low power. With a section reduced from 9.3054 cm2 to 1.01 cm2 and capacitance density increased from 1.07 nF/cm2 to 9.88 nF/cm2, this capacitor boasts a high resonance frequency of 30 MHz and negligible losses, with a very low dissipation factor of 0.039. The COMSOL Multiphysics simulation showed correct behavior of the potential, electric field, charge density, and uniformly distributed temperature. This design offers many advantages, including reduced dimensions, high resonance frequency, high capacitance density, negligible losses, and low impedance, allowing it to charge quickly, making it a promising capacitor for various industries. We can also modify the folding for smaller dimensions and the desired capacitance value.