In electronics, a constant phase element is an equivalent electrical circuit component that models the behaviour of a double layer, that is, an imperfect capacitor (see double-layer capacitance).
Constant phase elements are also used in equivalent circuit modeling and data fitting of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data.
A constant phase element also currently appears in modeling the imperfect dielectrics' behavior. The generalization in the fields of imperfect electrical resistances, capacitances, and inductances leads to the general "phasance" concept: http://fr.scribd.com/doc/71923015/The-Phasance-Concept
General equation
The electrical impedance can be calculated:
Z C P E = 1 Y C P E = 1 Q 0 ω n e − π 2 n i {\displaystyle Z_{CPE}={\frac {1}{Y_{CPE}}}={\frac {1}{Q_{0}\omega ^{n}}}e^{-{\frac {\pi }{2}}ni}}where the CPE admittance is: Y C P E = Q 0 ( ω i ) n {\displaystyle Y_{CPE}=Q_{0}(\omega i)^{n}} and Q0 and n (0<n<1) are frequency independent.1
Q0 = 1/|Z| at ω = 1 rad/s
The constant phase is always −(90*n)°, with n from 0 to 1. The case n = 1 describes an ideal capacitor while the case n = 0 describes a pure resistor.
References
Kochowski, S; K. Nitsch (21 May 2002). "Description of the frequency behaviour of metal-SiO2-GaAs structure characteristics by electrical equivalent circuit with constant phase element" (PDF). Thin Solid Films. 415 (1–2): 133–137. Bibcode:2002TSF...415..133K. doi:10.1016/s0040-6090(02)00506-0. Retrieved 22 October 2012.[permanent dead link] http://144.206.159.178/ft/1035/72608/14075937.pdf ↩