New High-Frequency Resistors Target Communications, Military Applications
Corpus Christi, TX -- IRC's Advanced Film Division has extended its product range with new high-frequency resistive devices for wireless communications and line terminators, precision dividers for analog military circuits, and surface-mount surge power resistors.
According to Steve Wade, sales and marketing director for IRC's Advanced Film Division, the company has found increasing market demand for high-frequency resistive products in several of its core markets, including communications, automotive, medical, and military customers. "As wireless technology is being integrated into more of these areas, design engineers are discovering the need for resistive devices that must operate into the gigahertz range," Wade said. "We have developed a sample kit of our high-frequency resistors and data packs to give them a resource for their design work, and we've seen an increased number of prototype designs based on these sample kits and data packs."
The sample kit includes IRC's 1206 thin film surface mount attenuators (PFC-A Series); isolated and bussed BGA network terminators (CHC Series); and high frequency resistor chip terminators (PFC-HF Series).
Typical applications for the high-frequency resistive devices include satellite, radar, and microwave datalink circuits, CATV and set-top boxes, as well as wireless communication circuits in automotive, industrial, and medical devices.
Ball grid arrays for high speed digital line termination
Another growth area for high-frequency resistors is in line termination circuits for digital high speed data communications busses and memory circuits for wired applications. IRC's CHC Series ball grid array networks and PFC-HF Series discrete resistors are capable of operating at frequencies up to 40 GHz to provide termination performance in 50 Ù and 75 Ù circuits.
"At the higher data rates used in today's computers, digital engineers can improve signal integrity by minimizing reflections on digital transmission lines with a terminator that maintains constant impedance into the higher frequency ranges," Wade explained. The company also recently characterized its range of high-frequency resistive products using time domain techniques that are more familiar to digital engineers.
Surface mount surge resistors with 50% higher power ratings
IRC has also added production capacity for a new series of thick film surge resistors, designated the PWC Series, that deliver up to 50% higher power ratings than conventional thick film resistors -- up to 1.5 W in a standard 2512 size chip.
"While conventional thick film resistors typically provide power ratings up to 1W in a 2512 chip size," Wade said, "IRC is able to boost this power rating up to 1.5 W through a combination of proprietary thick film materials and advanced manufacturing processes." Manufacturing this product at its Corpus Christi facility provides customers with a second source, since IRC's sister division, Welwyn Components, also manufactures this part in the UK, he added.
Typical applications for the PWC Series resistors include telecommunications, switchgears, power supplies, and circuit protection devices.
Precision voltage dividers target military analog circuits
When military and aerospace analog design engineers required a precision two-element resistor network in a 1206 chip package, IRC developed a military voltage divider that provides two matched tantalum nitride resistors with precision absolute and ratio tolerances (±0.05%/±0.01%) on a single chip. Designated the D1206 Series, the ceramic chip exhibits better TCR tracking, higher accuracy, and significant board space savings compared to designs using two discrete resistors.
According to Wade, the dividers are ideal for precision analog circuit designs for military and aerospace applications, especially gain control circuits in op amps and as a reference voltage for military power supplies. "The TaNFilm resistive element provides long term stability over time and temperature," he explained, "and they are impervious to the corrosion problems often experienced with other types of resistive materials under biased humidity, as well as other harsh environmental conditions."
The voltage divider is approved to DSCC Drawing #01033, and is referenced under MIL-PRF-55342, Group A & B screening.
Source: IRC Inc.