ABSTRACT
Since the discovery of the electrical conductivity of doped polyacetylene by Shirakawa, MacDiarmid, and Heeger in 1977, a variety of conducting polymers (Figure 10.1) and many applications for conducting polymers have been developed.1,2 Today, 30 years later, solid electrolyte capacitors are one of the major markets for conducting polymers. Conducting polymers form the cathode in solid electrolyte polymer capacitors. Due to their high electrical conductivity and self-healing property, conducting polymers are more often replacing other solid electrolytes like MnO2 or TCNQ as well as liquid electrolytes. The driving force for the replacement of traditional electrolytes has been the signicant reduction of the internal electrical resistance (equivalent series resistance or ESR) of the electrolyte capacitors by conducting polymers.3
