RESISTORS

A resistor is an electrical component that limits or regulates the flow of electrical

current in an electronic circuit. Resistors can also be used to provide a specific
voltage for an active device such as a transistor.

All other factors being equal, in a direct-current (DC) circuit, the current through a
resistor is inversely proportional to its resistance and directly proportional to the
voltage across it. This is the well-known Ohm's Law. In alternating-current (AC)
circuits, this rule also applies as long as the resistor does not contain inductance or
capacitance.

Resistors can be fabricated in a variety of ways. The most common type in

electronic devices and systems is the carbon-composition resistor. Fine granulated
carbon (graphite) is mixed with clay and hardened. The resistance depends on the
proportion of carbon to clay; the higher this ratio, the lower the resistance.

Another type of resistor is made from winding Nichrome or similar wire on an

insulating form. This component, called a wirewound resistor, is able to handle
higher currents than a carbon-composition resistor of the same physical size.
However, because the wire is wound into a coil, the component acts as an inductors
as well as exhibiting resistance. This does not affect performance in DC circuits, but
can have an adverse effect in AC circuits because inductance renders the device
sensitive to changes in frequency.

Types of Resistors

I. Linear Resistor:

A. Fixed Value Resistor

A linear resistor is the type of resistor whose resistance remains constant

with increase in the potential difference or voltage applied to it.

Or the Resistance or Current passed through the resistor does not change
as the applied voltage (P.D) changes. The V-I characteristics of such
resistor is a straight line as shown on the figure below or in other words
these types of resistors follows Ohm’s Law very strictly.

Fixed value resistors are those types of resistors whose value is fixed
already while manufacturing and cannot be changed during its usage.
Type of Fixed Resistor

a. Carbon Composition

These types of resistors are made by a composition of Carbon Particles

which are hold together by a binding resign. The proportion of carbon
particles and resign used determines the value of the resistor. At both
ends of the composition a Metal Cap with a small rod of tin is attached to
solder it or use it in circuits, and then the whole package is enclosed in a
plastic case to prevent moisture and reaction with air.

These types of resistors normally produces noise in circuit due to electron

passing through one carbon particle to another , thus these types or
resistors are not used in critical circuits although they are cheap.

Ex.

b. High Voltage Thick Film:

These types of resistors are made by coating a special resistive ink in a

helical band above a ceramic base. These resistors can withstand very
high voltage of up to one thousands of kilo voltages and usually have high
resistance too ranging from on kilo ohms to one hundred thousand mega
ohms.

Ex.

c. Metal Film

Metal film resistors are made by depositing vaporized metal in vacuum on

a ceramic core rod. These types of resistors are very reliable, have high
 tolerance and also have high temperature coefficient. These types of
resistors are costlier compared to other but are used in critical systems.

Ex.

d. Metal Glaze:

Metal Glaze resistors are made up of glass and metal which is mixed and
applied as thick films to a ceramic substrate and then fired to form a film.

Ex.

e. Wire Wound:

Wire wound resistors are made by winding a metal wire around a ceramic
core. The metal wire is an alloy of various metals based on the
characteristics and resistance of the resistor required. These types of
resistor have high stability and can also withstand high powers but are
usually bulkier compared to other types of resistors.

Ex.
f. Ceramic Metal:

These types of resistor are made by firing certain metals blended with
ceramics on a ceramic substrate. The proportion of the mixture in the
blended ceramic and metal determines the value of the resistor. These
types of resistors are very stable and also have accurate resistance.
These types of resistors are mostly used as Surface Mount type resistor
for using in SMD PCB.

Ex.

B. Package Resistor

These types of resistor are a resistor which contains a package which

contains two or more resistors inside it.

It has many terminals and the resistor’s resistance can be chosen by

using any two terminals among the available terminals or can also be
used as an resistor array for various purposes.

Ex.
II. Non Linear Resistor:

Non-Linear Resistor is those types of resistors in which the Current passed through
it is not exactly directly proportional to the Potential Difference applied to it. These
types of resistors have non-liner V-I characteristics and does not strictly follows
ohm’s Law.

A. Variable Resistor or Potentiometer

Variable Resistors or Potentiometers are those types of resistors whose Value

can be changed during its usage.

These types of resistor usually contain a shaft which can be rotated or moved
by hand or a screw driver to change its value in between a fixed range for
eg. 0 Kilo Ohms to 20 Kilo Ohms.

Ex.

B. Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)

It is a passive electronic component, basically a resistor which has a resistance that varies
depending of the light intensity. A photoresistor is made of a high resistance semiconductor that
absorbs photons and based on the quantity and frequency of the absorbed photons the
semiconductor material give bound electrons enough energy to jump into the conduction band.
The resulting free electrons conduct electricity resulting in lowering resistance of the
photoresistor. The number of electrons is dependent of the photons frequency.
 The resistance is very high in darkness, almost high as 1MΩ but when there is light that falls on
the LDR, the resistance is falling down to a few KΩ (10-20kΩ @ 10 lux, 2-4kOmega; @ 100 lux)
depending on the model.

C. PTC

PTC stands for Positive Temperature Coefficient. PTC thermistors are resistors with a positive
temperature coefficient, which means that the resistance increases with increasing temperature.
PTC has two types. The first group of PTC thermistors is comprised of silistors, which use
silicon as the semi conductive material. They are used as PTC temperature sensors for their
linear characteristic. The second group is the switching type PTC thermistor. This type of PTC
thermistors is widely used in PTC heaters, sensors etc. Polymer PTC thermistors, made of a
special plastic, are also in this second group, often used as resettable fuses. The switching type
PTC thermistor has a highly nonlinear resistance-temperature curve. When the switching type
PTC thermistor is heated, the resistance starts to decrease at first, until a certain critical
temperature is reached then as the temperature is further increased above its critical value, the
resistance increases dramatically.

D. NTC

NTC stands for “Negative Temperature Coefficient”. NTC thermistors are resistors with a
negative temperature coefficient, which means that the resistance decreases with increasing
temperature. They are primarily used as resistive temperature sensors and current-limiting
devices. The temperature sensitivity coefficient is about five times greater than that of silicon
temperature sensors (silistors) and about ten times greater than those of resistance temperature
detectors (RTDs). NTC sensors are typically used in a range from −55°C to 200°C.
The non-linearity of the relationship between resistance and temperature exhibited by NTC
resistors posed a great challenge when using analog circuits to accurately measure temperature,
but rapid development of digital circuits solved that problem enabling computation of precise
values by interpolating lookup tables or by solving equations which approximate a typical NTC
curve.

RESISTOR COLOR CODING

For Resistor with Three (3) Color Band

1. Combine 1st and 2nd Digit

2. Multiply it using the multiplier
digit
1st =1 2nd =0 Multiplier = 5
COLOR 1ST BAND 2ND BAND MULTIPLIER TOLERANCE
Black 0 0 1
Brown 1 1 10 +-1% (F)
Red 2 2 100 +-2% (G)
Orange 3 3 1000
Yellow 4 4 10000
Green 5 5 100000 +-0.5% (D)
Blue 6 6 1000000 +-0.25% (C )
Violet 7 7 10000000 +-0.10% (B)
Grey 8 8 100000000 +-0.05%
White 9 9 1000000000
Gold 0.1 +- 5% (J)
Silver 0.01 +- 10% (K)

3. Get the tolerance Percentage

The tolerance of a resistor is the deviation that a
Tolerance =+-5%
resistor may vary from its nominal value resistance,
measured at 25°C with no load applied.
50 *0.05 =2.5
4. Add and subtract the tolerance In other words, the resistor tolerance is the amount
by which the resistance of a resistor may vary from
to the total resistance
its stated value. The larger the resistor tolerance, the
50+2.5=52.5 more it may vary, either up or down, from its
50-2.5= 47.5 nominal value. The smaller the resistor tolerance, the
less it varies from its nominal value and, thus, the
more stable it is.

RESISTOR COLOR CODING

For Resistor with Four(4) Color Band

 1. Combine 1st , 2nd and 3rd Digit
2. Multiply it using the
multiplier digit
1st =1 2nd =0 3rd =0 Multiplier = 1

100 * 1 = 100

COLOR 1ST BAND 2ND BAND 3RD BAND MULTIPLIER TOLERANCE

Black 0 0 0 1
Brown 1 1 1 10 +-1% (F)
Red 2 2 2 100 +-2% (G)
Orange 3 3 3 1000
Yellow 4 4 4 10000
Green 5 5 5 100000 +-0.5% (D)
Blue 6 6 6 1000000 +-0.25% (C )
Violet 7 7 7 10000000 +-0.10% (B)
Grey 8 8 8 100000000 +-0.05%
White 9 9 9 1000000000
Gold 0.1 +- 5% (J)
Silver 0.01 +- 10% (K)