Resistor materials Resistor Guide

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Fundamentals

Standards And Codes

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Types

Materials

Applications

Resources

Capacitor

Resistor materials

Resistor materials
Carbon composition resistor
Carbon film resistor
Foil resistor
Metal film resistor
Metal oxide film resistor
Thin and thick film
Wirewound resistor

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Resistor materials Resistor Guide

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Resistors are produced with a wide variety of materials and manufacturing processes. Each resistor material has its
typical properties and specific areas of use. The main types that are used in electrical engineering are summed below.

Wirewound (WW)
These types are made by winding resistance wire in a spiral around a non-conductive core.
The resistance wire is usually a nickel-chromium alloy and the core is often ceramic or
fiberglass. A coating such as vitreous enamel is used for protection. The spiral winding has
capacitive and inductive effects that makes it not suitable for applications higher than 50
kHz. Often other winding techniques are used to reduce the undesired high frequency
effects. Wirewound resistors are essentially produced for high precision or for high power
applications. They have low noise, are robust, and are temperature stable. Resistance
values are available from 0.1 up to 100 kW, with accuracies between 0.001 and 20%.

Carbon Composition (CCR)

The resistive element is made from a mixture of fine carbon particles and a
non-conductive ceramic material. The substance is pressed in a cylindrical shape and
baked. The resistance value depends on the dimensions of the body and the ratio between
carbon and ceramic material. More carbon means a lower resistance. Carbon composition
resistors are remarkably reliable, but have a poor accuracy with a maximum tolerance
around 5%. Until the 1960s they were the standard for general applications. They quickly
lost market share as other resistor types came on the market with better properties for
tolerance, voltage coefficient, temperature coefficient, stability and finally cost.
However, their ability to withstand high energy pulses and their high reliability makes
them still useful for certain applications. Examples are power supplies and welding controls.

Carbon Film
A thin, pure carbon film is deposited on an insulating cylindrical core. A spiral cut is made
in the film to increase the resistive path. This increases the resistance value and is also a
way to control the resistance value more precise. Values from 1 up to 10 M are
available. The accuracy is a significant improvement compared to carbon composition,
but metal and metal oxide film have overall better properties and gained therefore more
popularity. In applications that require high pulse stability, special carbon film resistors
are used.

Metal Film
Metal film resistors are usually made of Nichrome, but also other materials such as
tantalum nitride is used. The resistive film is printed on a cylindrical or flat insulating
substrate. The resistive material is a combination of a Ceramic material and a Metal, and
therefore these resistors are also referred to as Cermet. Just as with carbon film, the
resistance value is adjusted by cutting a spiral pattern in the film. This can be done with
an abrasive or a laser. The stability, temperature coefficient and tolerance are better than
for carbon film. Typical tolerances are between 0.5% and 2% with a temperature
coefficient between 50 and 100 ppm/K. Stability is lower than for wirewound, but the high frequency properties are
better.

Metal Oxide Film

They are similar to metal film with the difference that the resistive material is a metal
oxide, such as tin oxide. These durable resistors feature a better reliability and stability
than metal film resistors. Furthermore the operating temperature is higher. Therefore
they are more used in applications requiring a high endurance.

Foil
The foil resistor was invented in the 1960s and is still the
most accurate and stable type today. The resistive element
is a thin bulk metal foil that is cemented on a ceramic
substrate. The foil thickness is several micrometers.
Inherent to the mechanical design, they feature a very low
temperature coefficient of resistance. They are used for
applications with high precision requirements.

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Resistor materials Resistor Guide

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Key Performance Indicators

The key performance indicators for each resistor material are summarized in the table below.

Characteristic

Carbon

Carbon

Thick Metal

Metal

Precision Metal

Composition

film

Film

Film

Film

Temp. range

-40 +105

.55 +155

-55 +130

-55 +125

-55 +155

Max. temp. coeff.

1200

250-1000

100

100

15

Vmax

350-500

350-500

250

200-350

200

Noise (V per volt of applied DC)

4 (100K)

4 (100K)

0.1

0.5

0.1

R Insul.

10000

10000

10000

10000

10000

2%

0.5%

0.15%

0.2%

0.02%

15%

3.5%

1%

0.5%

0.5%

5%

2%

0.1%

0.1%

0.002%

10%

4%

1%

1%

0.03%

Solder (change % in resistance

value)
Damp heat (change % in
resistance value)
Shelf life (change & in resistance
value)
Full Rating (2000h at 70degC)

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