VPG's Foil Resistors Increasingly Recommended for Reference Designs in Precision Analog Applications, Including Intersil's New Low-Noise Signal Chain Solution
MALVERN, Pa. - Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE: VPG) today announced that an increasing number of semiconductor companies are recommending its Vishay Foil Resistors (VFR) brand resistors as part of their reference designs for precision analog applications. In the latest example, Intersil Corporation is using VFR's ultra-high-precision FRSM Z1-Foil wrap-around chip resistors to maintain exceptional gain accuracy under extraordinary thermal and environmental stresses in its new precision, low-noise signal chain solution.
Included in Intersil's signal chain solution are the 40 V ISL28617 low-noise instrumentation amplifier, the ISL21090 low-noise voltage reference, and the ISL26134 low-noise 24-bit delta-sigma analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The ISL28617 offers excellent gain accuracy and gain temperature coefficient over a temperature range of -40°C to +125°C, with the industry's highest common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) in all gain configurations. The ISL28617 can provide both high gain and attenuation, and is ideal for instrumentation, industrial, motor control, and medical systems.
The gain of the ISL28617 can be programmed from 0.1 to 10,000 via two external resistors. Since gain accuracy is determined by the matching of the resistors, resistor temperature drift and instability create gain errors and ultimately limit system accuracy. For high gains where the resistors are subject to different voltages, resistor voltage coefficients and unequal self-heating can add additional errors. To maintain gain accuracy, resistors with low temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and power coefficient of resistance (PCR) are required.
To reduce gain error due to thermal gradients in Intersil's signal chain solution, the FRSM series offers low typical TCR of ±0.05 ppm/°C from 0°C to +60°C and ±0.2 ppm/°C from -55°C to +125°C, +25°C ref, and low PCR of 5 ppm at rated power. For increased reliability, the devices provide exceptional load-life stability of ±0.0025% (25 ppm) at 70°C and rated power for 2,000 hours and ±0.005% for 10,000 hours, and tight tolerances to ±0.01%. The resistors feature a rise time of 1.0 ns, with effectively no ringing, a thermal stabilization time of <1 s (nominal value achieved within 10 ppm of steady state value), current noise of 0.010 microvolts rms/V of applied voltage (<-40 dB), and a voltage coefficient of <0.1 ppm/V.
Additionally, Xilinx is using VFR ultra-precision CSM current-sensing resistors in its FPGA circuit to measure the amount of current handled by the design.
Further information about Vishay Foil Resistors products is available at www.vishayfoilresistors.com. Follow Vishay Foil Resistors at http://twitter.com/foilresistor.
About VPG Foil Resistors
Distinguished by the premier brands Vishay Foil Resistors, Powertron, and Alpha Electronics, VPG Foil Resistors is part of Vishay Precision Group (VPG), producing the most precise and stable resistors available. The portfolio comprises products in a variety of resistor and package configurations to meet the needs of a wide range of applications: discrete resistors and resistor networks in surface mount and through-hole (fixed-lead) configurations; customized chip resistor networks; precision trimming potentiometers; and discrete chips for use in hybrid circuits. The foil resistors and current sensors are used in applications requiring a high degree of precision and stability, such as in medical testing equipment, semiconductor equipment, precision measuring instruments, aerospace, and military applications.
About Vishay Precision Group
Vishay Precision Group (VPG) is an internationally recognized designer, manufacturer and marketer of: components based on its resistive foil technology; sensors; and sensor-based systems specializing in the growing markets of stress, force, weight, pressure, and current measurements. VPG is a market leader of Foil Technology Products, providing ongoing technology innovations in precision foil resistors and foil strain gages, which are the foundation of the Company's Force Sensors Products and its Weighing and Control Systems. The product portfolio consists of a variety of well-established brand names recognized for precision and quality in the marketplace. To learn more, visit VPG at www.vishaypg.com.
