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Thick Film Resistors vs Bulk Metal Foil Resistors - A Comparison

The bulk metal foil resistor was first developed by Dr Felix Zandman (who went on to found Vishay) in the early 1960’s and is now a mainstream resistor technology. In this post, we compare the performance of bulk metal foil resistor technology with thick film.

Construction Comparison

The bulk metal foil manufacturing process involves attaching a bulk metal foil to a ceramic substrate using an adhesive. A photoetching process is then used to form the resistor pattern. The final step is to adjust the resistor value and tolerance using a laser.

Thick Film Custom Resistor Package Styles

Thick film resistor technology is the ideal choice for many applications. Other resistor technologies may outperform thick film in certain applications but are usually lower density and/or higher cost solutions. Thick film technology has excellent thermal properties and is low inductance. It also offers high resistance density (small size) and is comparatively cheap.

Thick Film Resistor Network In TCR Matching Applications

In this post, we discuss the potential measurement errors in sensitive analysis and measurement equipment caused by a mismatch in resistor TCR and how a thick film resistor network may be one possible solution.

Precision resistors are used in a wide range of measurement and analysis equipment. Voltage dividers and precision references are common in such applications with two (or more) resistors utilised to provide a known reference or input voltage

How To Specify A Custom Power Resistor

When a standard power resistor will not match the demands of a particular application a custom power resistor can be one solution. To ensure the resistor performs to specification over its full in service life close co-operation is required between the system design engineer and the application specific resistor manufacturer during the component design phase.

Why Resistors Fail Under High Energy Pulse Conditions

When trying to select the correct thick film resistor it is important to understand why resistors fail under pulse conditions. High energy pulses may occur in a wide variety of applications. They may be predictable or random events. It is important to understand the nature of the pulse event, the application and environmental conditions and select a resistor accordingly.

Thick film resistors fail under pulse conditions because they are unable to dissipate the heat generated in the resistor device by the electrical energy of the pulse.

Resistor Obsolescence And How To Spot Counterfeit Resistors

It may seem unlikely given their relatively low value compared to other components but counterfeit resistors continue to be a problem in the electronic component supply chain. Failure to spot a counterfeit device, before it is installed in the end equipment, can have catastrophic consequences.

How To Specify Custom Heater Resistors

Heater resistors are used in a wide variety of applications from simple demisting elements in car windscreens to complex medical applications where demand is increasing for custom heater resistors to satisfy the requirements of demanding and diverse medical applications. In this post, we discuss the information required by a specialist resistor manufacturer to design and deliver an application specific heater resistor.

Thick Film Bleeder Resistor Selection

A bleeder resistor is a safety device designed to prevent electric shock to system maintenance and service personnel. Correct bleeder resistor selection is vital to ensure electric charge stored in a system is dissipated when equipment is turned off. Bleeder resistors are common in power supplies, braking systems and many other power applications.

Thick Film High Voltage Resistors vs Wirewound - A Comparison

Two of the most common resistor technologies are thick film and wirewound. In this post we compare thick film high voltage resistors with their wirewound competitors discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Thick film high voltage resistors are manufactured by depositing a resistance film pattern onto a flat substrate (usually Alumina). The assembly is then fired at high temperature. The resistor elements are often applied in spiral patterns and consist of metal alloy or oxide particles, functional elements and a glass particle binder.

Network Resistor Design Considerations

For high performance applications a network resistor with low TCR, close ratio tolerances and long term in circuit stability is required. In this post, we consider the key network resistor specification issues a system designer should consider. Temperature effects, reliability, stability and drift and resistor matching all need careful consideration.

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