– The purpose of this paper is to characterize electrical properties of nickel-phosphorus (Ni-P) thin-film resistors made on FR-4 laminate in a wide range of temperature (from −180 to 20°C).
– The study was performed using resistors made of Ni-P foil with two different thicknesses (0.1 or 0.05 μm) and sheet resistances (100 or 250 Ω/sq), respectively. The resistance rectangular resistors had length and width from the range between 0.59 and 5.91 mm. The resistance versus temperature characteristics and their distribution as well as resistors' durability to low-temperature thermal shocks were investigated.
– The results showed almost linear temperature dependence of resistance with a negative temperature coefficient of resistance of about −95 ppm/°C for 250 Ω/sq layer and −55 ppm/°C for 100 Ω/sq layer. A very small dimensional effect was observed for sheet resistance as well as for R(T) characteristic. Thin-film resistors are also characterized by very high durability to low-temperature thermal shocks.
– The results presented in this paper can be very useful for low-temperature applications of thin-film resistors made on printed circuit boards. They suggest possibility of wide applications of these components in a wide temperature range.
