Aluminum electrolytic capacitor electrolytic capacitor. The properties of this aluminum oxide layer compared with tantalum pentoxide dielectric layer are given in the following table: After forming a dielectric oxide on the rough anode structures, a counter-electrode has to match the rough insulating oxide surface. This is provided by the electrolyte, which acts as the cathode electrode of an electrolytic capacitor. Electrolytes may be "non-solid" (wet, liquid) or "solid". Non-solid electrolytes, as a liquid medium that has an "ion conductivity" caused by moving ions, are relatively insensitive to voltage spikes or current surges. Solid electrolytes have an "electron conductivity", which makes solid electrolytic capacitors
Chronic electrode implant that glial encapsulation, i.e. gliosis, insulates the electrode from nearby neurons, thereby hindering diffusion and increasing impedance, extends the distance between the electrode and its nearest target neurons, or creates an inhibitory environment for neurite extension, thus repelling regenerating neural processes away from recording sites"”. Either activated astrocytes or buildup of cellular debris from cell death around the electrode would act to insulate the recording sites from other, active neurons. Even very small increases in the separation between the electrode and local nerve population can insulate the electrode completely, as electrodes must be within 100 um to get a signal.