What is the difference between thin film precision resistors and conventional resistors

There are significant differences between thin film precision resistors and conventional resistors in multiple aspects. The following is a detailed summary of these differences:

1、 Materials and Manufacturing Processes
Thin film precision resistor:
Material: Usually made of metal thin films (such as nickel chromium alloy, manganese copper alloy, etc.) or special resistance materials.
Manufacturing process: A very thin resistive film is formed on a ceramic or glass substrate through methods such as vacuum evaporation, sputtering, or chemical deposition, and then processed through precise laser resistance tuning and packaging techniques.
Conventional resistance:
Materials: Generally made of materials such as carbon film, metal oxide film, or conductive polymer.
Manufacturing process: By coating, printing, or sintering, a thick layer of resistive film is formed on the substrate, and then processed through cutting, resistance adjustment, and packaging.
2、 Accuracy and stability
Thin film precision resistor:
Accuracy: It can usually reach ± 0.1% or even lower, suitable for situations that require high-precision resistance values.
Stability: The temperature coefficient (TCR) is very low, usually between ± 5ppm/℃ and ± 50ppm/℃, and the resistance value changes very little with temperature, indicating high stability.
Conventional resistance:
Accuracy: Generally between ± 5% and ± 10%, with relatively low accuracy.
Stability: The temperature coefficient is high, and the resistance value varies greatly with temperature, resulting in poor stability.
3、 Performance characteristics
Thin film precision resistor:
Low noise: Due to the flat surface and uniform thickness of the resistive film, the generated noise is relatively small.
Small parasitic parameters: Small parasitic inductance and capacitance, suitable for high-frequency circuits.
Fast response speed: Due to the thin and uniform resistive film, the transmission speed of electrons in it is fast, resulting in a fast response speed.
Conventional resistance:
Relatively high noise: Due to the thick and uneven resistive film, significant noise may be generated.
Large parasitic parameters: parasitic inductance and capacitance are large, which may affect the performance of high-frequency circuits.
Slow response speed: Due to the thick resistive film, the transmission speed of electrons in it is slow, resulting in a slower response speed.
4、 Application Fields
Thin film precision resistor:
Widely used in medical equipment, precision measuring instruments, communication equipment, automotive electronics and other fields, these fields have high requirements for the accuracy, stability and noise performance of resistors.
Conventional resistance:
Mainly used in general electronic devices such as household appliances, consumer electronics, etc., these fields have relatively low performance requirements for resistors.
5、 Cost and Price
Thin film precision resistor:
Due to the complexity of materials and manufacturing processes, as well as the requirements for high precision and stability, the cost and price of thin film precision resistors are relatively high.
Conventional resistance:
Due to the relatively simple materials and manufacturing processes, conventional resistors have lower costs and are also cheaper in price.
In summary, there are significant differences between thin film precision resistors and conventional resistors in terms of materials and manufacturing processes, accuracy and stability, performance characteristics, application areas, as well as cost and price. The choice of resistor depends on specific application requirements and budget constraints.