TT Electronics have announced their new HPWC (High Pulse Withstanding Chip) series of resistors. This series was developed on the basis of a single-sided flat-chip thick-film design able to absorb very high pulse power.

This new series is essentially a development of the PWC (Pulse Withtanding Chip) range. The main difference is that the resistor value of the new series is produced by precise process control rather than by laser trimming. Laser trimming can create regions in the resistance path with high localised current density. Manufacturing with a precision process maximizes and improves the level of absorbable pulse power of a single-sided flat resistor chip. This makes the HPWC series ideal for protection and discharge applications in compact power supplies and power control circuits where the use of resistor values with a tolerance of five percent are acceptable.
 
Resistor lightning surge performance. Source: TT Electronics.

The HPWC resistors are available in four sizes from 0805 to 2512 and can withstand a single pulse surge up to 6.5 kV with of 1.2 / 50 μs and up to 3 kW peak power with pulse duration of 100 μs. Available resistance values ​​range between 1 Ω and 100 kΩ with nominal ratings from 250 mW to 2 W (depending on chip format). Typical applications include industrial and medical equipment, power supplies, circuit breakers, motor drives, and input protection for medical monitoring equipment.