Everything you need to know about bypass / decoupling capacitors. How do they work? Why use them at all? Why put multiple ones in parallel? What effect does package type have on performance? Are there any traps? Dave measures some bypass capacitors with an impedance analyser to confirm the whiteboard theory and shows the complexities involved.
00:00 - What do bypass / decoupling capacitors do? 03:12 - In the real world, every has resistance and inductance 07:09 - What happens when the output of a chip switches? 10:55 - Why have multiple capacitors in parallel? 16:35 - Capacitor packages can make a huge difference 19:26 - Testing it out on the bench 26:34 - Demonstrating how one larger capacitor could be better than multiple capacitors