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Kinds of Resistor: Carbon-Composition Resistors

Carbon-composition resistors contain a carbon-based resistive material mixed with stabilizing compounds, with the amount of carbon determining resistance. They can handle temporary overloads better than film resistors due to even heat distribution, making them suitable for circuits with pulses or transients. However, they are influenced by temperature and humidity. Film resistors use a thin carbon or metal film coating on an insulating substrate to achieve very accurate and stable resistance values. However, the thin film limits their power handling ability and films can be damaged by overloads. Wire-wound resistors consist of high-resistance wire wound around an insulating form, allowing them to dissipate large amounts of power from 1 watt to hundreds. However,

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49 views2 pages

Kinds of Resistor: Carbon-Composition Resistors

Carbon-composition resistors contain a carbon-based resistive material mixed with stabilizing compounds, with the amount of carbon determining resistance. They can handle temporary overloads better than film resistors due to even heat distribution, making them suitable for circuits with pulses or transients. However, they are influenced by temperature and humidity. Film resistors use a thin carbon or metal film coating on an insulating substrate to achieve very accurate and stable resistance values. However, the thin film limits their power handling ability and films can be damaged by overloads. Wire-wound resistors consist of high-resistance wire wound around an insulating form, allowing them to dissipate large amounts of power from 1 watt to hundreds. However,

Uploaded by

Mario Tolo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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KINDS OF RESISTOR

Carbon-composition resistors
These are also known as carbon-comp resistors. “Composition” means that the resistive material is a mix of
carbon and stabilizing compounds. The amount of carbon in the mix determines the resistance of the material. A
small cylinder, like a pencil lead, is held between the two electrodes and coated with resin or phenolic, making a
non-inductive resistor (one with very low parasitic inductance) that is often used in RF circuits.

Carbon-comp resistors are available with power ratings of 1⁄4- to 2 watts. They can also handle temporary
overloads much better than film resistors (more about those in a moment) because the heat is distributed evenly
throughout the cylinder of resistive material. That makes this type of resistor a good choice for circuits that protect
against and absorb pulses and transients (short bursts of excess voltage or current), for example. Unfortunately,
these resistors are also strongly influenced by temperature and humidity and so are not good for circuits that
depend on precise, stable resistance values.

Film resistors
In a film resistor, the resistive material is a very thin coating of carbon or metal on an insulating substrate, such
as ceramic or glass. The value of the resistance is determined by the thickness of the film and the amount of
carbon or metal in it. These resistors are available with very accurate and stable values. A drawback of film
resistors is that they are unable to handle large amounts of power because the film is so thin. Overloads can also
damage the film by creating “hot spots” inside the resistor, changing its value permanently. The value of film
resistors is sometimes adjusted before sealing by cutting away some of the film with a laser, a process called
trimming. Surface-mount resistors are almost always film resistors; the film is deposited on a ceramic sheet.
Because of their extremely small size, surface-mount resistors have very low power ratings — from 1⁄10 to 1⁄4
watt.

Wire-wound resistors
Common in power supplies and other equipment that dissipates lots of power, wire-wound resistors are made
just as you might expect: A high-resistance wire is wound around an insulating form — usually a ceramic tube —
and attached to electrodes at each end. These are made to dissipate a lot of power in sizes from 1-watt to
hundreds of watts! Wire-wound resistors are usually intended to be air cooled, but some styles have a metal case
that can be attached to a heat sink or metal chassis to get rid of undesired heat. Because the resistive material in
these resistors is wound on a form, they also act like small inductors. For this reason, wire-wound resistors are
not used in audio and RF circuits. Be careful when using a resistor from your junk box or a grab bag in such a
circuit! Small wire-wound resistors look an awful lot like film or carbon-comp resistors. There is usually a wide
color band on wire-wound resistors, but not always. If you’re in doubt, test the resistor at the frequencies you
expect to encounter.
Ceramic and metal oxide resistors0
If you need a high-power non-inductive resistor, you can use cermet (ceramic-metal mix) or metal oxide resistors.
These are constructed much like carbon-comp resistors, substituting the cermet or metal oxide for the carbon
composition material.

Adjustable resistors
There are many different types of adjustable resistors. The simplest are wire wound resistors with some of the
wire exposed so a movable electrode can be attached. The most common are adjusted with a rotary shaft. The
element provides a fixed resistance between two terminals. The wiper moves to contact the element at different
positions, changing the resistance between the end of the element and the wiper terminal. If an adjustable
resistor has only two terminals — one end of the element and the wiper — then it’s called a rheostat and provides
an adjustable value of resistance. Most rheostats are intended for use in high-power circuits with power ratings
from several watts to several tens of watts. If the adjustable resistor has three terminals, it is called a
potentiometer (or “pot” for short). Most pots are intended to act as voltage dividers; they can be made into
rheostats by leaving one of the element terminals unconnected. Miniature versions called trimmers, mounted on
a circuit board, are used to make small adjustments or calibrate a circuit. They are available in single-turn or
multi-turn versions. Larger pots (with shafts 1⁄8” or 1⁄4” in diameter) are intended as user controls — for example,
the volume and tone pots on an electric guitar or a radio. Pots are available with resistance values from a few
ohms to several mega ohms and with power ratings up to 5 watts. As with fixed-value resistors, the construction
of the pot is important. Higher-power pots may have a wire wound element that has enough inductance to be
unsuitable for audio or RF signals. Smaller pots, particularly trim pots, are not designed to be strong enough
mechanically for use as a frequently adjusted control. Pots are also available with elements that have a non-
linear taper or change of resistance with wiper position. For example, a log taper pot has a resistance that
changes logarithmically with shaft rotation. This is useful in attenuator circuits. An audio taper pot is used to
create a voltage divider that mimics the loudness response of the human ear so volume appears to change
linearly with control rotation

Resistor networks
Often resistor networks are used to save space on printed circuit boards. These networks are miniature printed
circuits themselves, placing several resistors on one substrate — where they may be isolated from each other,
share one common terminal, or be connected in series. You can find various configurations of these resistors in
any component supplier’s catalog.

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