One of the most important characteristic of Tantalum capacitors is the RC-Ladder Effect. The interconnected Tantalum particles within the Tantalum capacitor act like an RC-ladder as shown on the bottom right hand side of this slide. The resistance of most technologies will increase with frequency. This is the same case for Tantalum capacitors. In lower frequencies, the capacitances respond as expected from the design. However, as frequency increases, the lumped resistance shown here as R1+R2+R3...+Rn to the deepest capacitance element (Cn) becomes so high that these deep capacitive units cannot respond within the time period of the frequency of the electrical stimulus as their associated RC time constants (tcn) approach or exceed the time period of the electrical stimulus. As frequency increases, the period of the stimulus decreases and more and more of the capacitance elements stop responding to the stimulus (Cn-1, Cn-2, Cn-3). Because of this, the apparent capacitance drops as frequency is increased. Eventually, only the capacitive elements closest to the terminations nearest the source of the stimulus can respond by charging and capacitance roll off becomes dramatic as the apparent capacitance is relatively low compared to the design capacitance.