Charge Control Methods for Supercapacitors

Circuit designs exploiting the increased energy storage provided by supercapacitors require more careful consideration of the increased power handling than that of batteries when charging these devices. The unique composition of electrochemical double-layer capacitors (EDLC) inherently allows them to withstand large currents. Table 1 is a brief list of AVX cylindrical (SCC) and series-connected module (SCM) SuperCapacitors, displaying peak current supply and sink current capability. These maximum specifications will typically exceed current capability of charge sources and lead to failures within the power supply system.