Capacitor Codes And Values

Reference Chart
Microfarad Nanofarad Picofarad European EIA/MIL Colour Band Code Parallel Capacitors
0.001uF 1.0nF 1000pF 1n0 102 Brown-Black-Red
0.0012uF 1.2nF 1200pF 1n2 122 Brown-Red-Red C1
0.0015uF 1.5nF 1500pF 1n5 152 Brown-Green-Red
0.0018uF 1.8nF 1800pF 1n8 182 Brown-Grey-Red
0.0022uF 2.2nF 2200pF 2n2 222 Red-Red-Red
0.0027uF 2.7nF 2700pF 2n7 272 Red-Violet-Red
0.0033uF 3.3nF 3300pF 3n3 332 Orange-Orange-Red C2
0.0039uF 3.9nF 3900pF 3n9 392 Orange-White-Red
0.0047uF 4.7nF 4700pF 4n7 472 Yellow-Violet-Red
0.0056uF 5.6nF 5600pF 5n6 562 Green-Blue-Red Ctotal = C1 + C2 + C3
0.0068uF 6.8nF 6800pF 6n8 682 Blue-Grey-Red
0.0082uF 8.2nF 8200pF 8n2 822 Grey-Red-Red
Series Capacitors
0.01uF 10nF 10x10^3pF 10n 103 Brown-Black-Orange
0.012uF 12nF 12x10^3pF 12n 123 Brown-Red-Orange C1 C2
0.015uF 15nF 15x10^3pF 15n 153 Brown-Green-Orange
0.018uF 18nF 18x10^3pF 18n 183 Brown-Grey-Orange
0.022uF 22nF 22x10^3pF 22n 223 Red-Red-Orange
0.027uF 27nF 27x10^3pF 27n 273 Red-Violet-Orange
0.033uF 33nF 33x10^3pF 33n 333 Orange-Orange-Orange Ctotal = C1 x C2
0.039uF 39nF 39x10^3pF 39n 393 Orange-White-Orange C1 + C2
0.047uF 47nF 47x10^3pF 47n 473 Yellow-Violet-Orange
0.056uF 56nF 56x10^3pF 56n 563 Green-Blue-Orange
0.068uF 68nF 68x10^3pF 68n 683 Blue-Grey-Orange Stored Charge
0.082uF 82nF 82x10^3pF 82n 823 Grey-Red-Orange
Q=VxC
0.1uF 100nF 10x10^4pF 100n 104 Brown-Black-Yellow
0.12uF 120nF 12x10^4pF 120n 124 Brown-Red-Yellow
0.15uF 150nF 15x10^4pF 150n 154 Brown-Green-Yellow
Stored Energy
0.18uF 180nF 18x10^4pF 180n 184 Brown-Grey-Yellow 2
0.22uF 220nF 22x10^4pF 220n 224 Red-Red-Yellow W= CxV
0.27uF 270nF 27x10^4pF 270n 274 Red-Violet-Yellow 2
0.33uF 330nF 33x10^4pF 330n 334 Orange-Orange-Yellow
0.39uF 390nF 39x10^4pF 390n 394 Orange-White-Yellow Q = Charge in Coulombs
C = Capacitance in Farads (F)
0.47uF 470nF 47x10^4pF 470n 474 Yellow-Violet-Yellow
V = Voltage
0.56uF 560nF 56x10^4pF 560n 564 Green-Blue-Yellow
W = Energy in Joules (Watt-seconds)
0.68uF 680nF 68x10^4pF 680n 684 Blue-Grey-Yellow
0.82uF 820nF 82x10^4pF 820n 824 Grey-Red-Yellow
Common Capacitor Types
1.0uF 1000nF 10x10^5pF 1u 105 Brown-Black-Green Electrolytic
1.2uF 1200nF 12x10^5pF 1u2 125 Brown-Red-Green Polarised. Often used for filtering or smoothing
1.5uF 1500nF 15x10^5pF 1u5 155 Brown-Green-Green power supply rails, for bypassing and coupling in
1.8uF 1800nF 18x10^5pF 1u8 185 Brown-Grey-Green audio circuits, and as a non-critical timing element.
2.2uF 2200nF 22x10^5pF 2u2 225 Red-Red-Green Tantalum
2.7uF 2700nF 27x10^5pF 2u7 275 Red-Violet-Green Polarised. Physically smaller than electrolytics, and
3.3uF 3300nF 33x10^5pF 3u3 335 Orange-Orange-Green have a lower series equivalent resistance.
3.9uF 3900nF 39x10^5pF 3u9 395 Orange-White-Green
Ceramic
4.7uF 4700nF 47x10^5pF 4u7 475 Yellow-Violet-Green
Low cost and high capacitance values in a small
5.6uF 5600nF 56x10^5pF 5u6 565 Green-Blue-Green
physical package. Often used in RF circuits due
6.8uF 6800nF 68x10^5pF 6u8 685 Blue-Grey-Green
to tight tolerances and good stability. Monolithic
8.2uF 8200nF 82x10^5pF 8u2 825 Grey-Red-Green
multi-layer ceramics are commonly used as
bypass capacitors.
10uF 10000nF 10x10^6pF 10u 106 Brown-Black-Blue
12uF 12000nF 12x10^6pF 12u 126 Brown-Red-Blue Polyester
15uF 15000nF 15x10^6pF 15u 156 Brown-Green-Blue Very cheap, general purpose. Sometimes called
18uF 18000nF 18x10^6pF 18u 186 Brown-Grey-Blue “greencaps” because they are typically green.
22uF 22000nF 22x10^6pF 22u 226 Red-Red-Blue Polycarbonate
27uF 27000nF 27x10^6pF 27u 276 Red-Violet-Blue Low temperature coefficient and low dielectric
33uF 33000nF 33x10^6pF 33u 336 Orange-Orange-Blue losses at high frequency, so usually used for
39uF 39000nF 39x10^6pF 39u 396 Orange-White-Blue applications where temperature stability is
47uF 47000nF 47x10^6pF 47u 476 Yellow-Violet-Blue important.
56uF 56000nF 56x10^6pF 56u 566 Green-Blue-Blue Polystyrene
68uF 68000nF 68x10^6pF 68u 686 Blue-Grey-Blue Tight tolerances, high stability, predictable
82uF 82000nF 82x10^6pF 82u 826 Grey-Red-Blue temperature coefficient.
Polypropylene
100uF 100,000nF 10x10^7pF 100u 107 Brown-Black-Violet Very low dielectric losses. Suitable for high power
220uF 220,000nF 22x10^7pF 220u 227 Red-Red-Violet inverters and high voltage applications.

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v1.0, Jan 13 2013. Source files and downloadable versions: www.freetronics.com/wallcharts