This slide shows the general capacitor construction and the basic Tantalum capacitor construction. Tantalum capacitors adhere to a plate-dielectric-plate structure that includes a positively charged anode and a negatively charged cathode, separated by a dielectric. The anode of a Tantalum capacitor is a porous pellet of Tantalum metal. The dielectric is Tantalum Pentoxide. The cathode is a semiconductor material, either MnO₂ or an intrinsically conductive polymer. The capacitance of a Tantalum capacitor can be calculated using the formula shown here. Since k and epsilon nought are constant, the capacitance is proportional to the area and dielectric thickness. It is important to note that the thicker the dielectric thickness, the lower the capacitance will be, but the voltage rating of the part will be higher.