Most tantalum or aluminum electrolytics are used at the input. Film-type capacitors also work but at higher cost. Ceramic capacitors are available for use at the output, but the low ESR (as low as 5m? to 10m?) potentially causes the output to not meet the minimum ESR requirement. If a ceramic capacitor is used, add a series resistor between 0.1? to 2? to meet the minimum ESR requirement.

Ceramic capacitors can be used, but because of the low ESR (as low as 5m? to 10m?), these capacitors can possibly not meet the minimum ESR requirement previously discussed. If a ceramic capacitor is used, a series resistor between 0.1? to 2? must be added to meet the minimum ESR requirement. In addition, ceramic capacitors have one glaring disadvantage that must be taken into account — a poor temperature coefficient, where the capacitance can vary significantly with temperature. For instance, a large-value ceramic capacitor (≥ 2.2μF) can lose more than half of the capacitance as temperature rises from 25°C to 85°C. Thus, a 2.2μF capacitor at 25°C drops well below the minimum C_L required for stability as ambient temperature rises. For this reason, select an output capacitor that maintains the minimum 2.2μF required for stability for the entire operating temperature range.