The Charging and Discharging of Nonlinear Capacitors

The charging and discharging of two types of nonlinear capacitances through a linear resistance are discussed in detail. The response of a capacitor whose capacitance is an increasing exponential function of the potential across it is compared to that of the "space-charge" capacitor whose voltage dependence is of the form C8 = (C0 sinh ¿ Vc/(¿Vc)), where Vc is the potential across the capacitor. The variation of the differential capacitance of the space-charge capacitor with time, during charging and discharging, is considered for various applied potentials and is compared with the somewhat similar behavior to be expected from a linear capacitor exhibiting a distribution of relaxation times.