Any electronic product must use two components, so-called "active components" and "passive components". "Active components", as the name suggests, are components that can actively perform operations independently, while "passive components" play a passive protective role. When an electronic product changes current or voltage, the role of "passive components" is to protect "active components" by means of lowering voltage, filtering noise, etc. To put it simply, "passive components" with low unit prices are always ready to protect the safety of "active components" with high unit prices.

Electronic components are the basic components combined together to make complete electronic products. Understanding the functions, types, structures, and properties of commonly used electronic components is fundamental to understanding electronic technology.

Electronic components are divided into two categories, active and passive; the difference lies in whether or not power is required to drive them. Semiconductor components driven by an electric circuit, such as transistors and diodes are often referred to as active components, while components which play a supporting role, such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc. are often referred to as passive. In recent years, a short supply of passive components in the market has drawn market attention to Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCCs). Because capacitance value is proportional to the surface area of the capacitor, the number of layers in a capacitor will affect the capacitance of the capacitor. Due to developments in ceramic film stacking technology, the capacitance value of MLCCs has increased significantly, and they are gradually replacing medium and low capacitance tantalum capacitors.

Passive components are components found in electronic products that consume rather than generate energy, such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors. Trillions of these common basic components are manufactured every year. They are cheap to manufacture, and can be produced using a large variety of materials. Most are general-purpose types, but some are specially designed for niche markets.