Thermistors and RTDs
What is a thermistor?
Thermal → is relating to, or caused by heat
Resistor → are used to reduce current flow, adjust
signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active elements,
and terminate transmission lines, among other uses.
Thermal + Resistor = Thermistor
→ Thermistor is a resistance thermometer or a
resistor whose resistance is dependent on
Temperature.
→ Thermistors can be used to produce an analogue
output voltage with variations in ambient
temperature. This is because it creates a change in its
electrical properties due to an external and physical
change in heat.
History of Thermistor
1833 → Michael Faraday an English scientist, first
discovered the concept of thermistors
→ Silver Sulfide. 
1930’s → Samuel Ruben American inventor invented
the first commercial thermistor.
→ U.S. Patent no. 2,021,491
Since then, technology has improved; paving the road
to improved manufacturing processes; along with the
availability of higher quality material.
Thermistor Types
1. NTC or Negative Temperature Coefficient
thermistors → NTC thermistors exhibit a DECREASE
in resistance as body temperature increases,
2. PTC or Positive Temperature Coefficient
thermistors → exhibit an INCREASE in resistance as
body temperature increases.
NTC Manufacturing Process
→ They manufacture NTC thermistors using a
mixture of metal oxides such as manganese, copper,
nickel; along with binding agents and stabilizers. The
material is pressed into wafer forms and sintered at
extreme temperatures; making the wafers ready to
either dice into smaller chip style thermistors, or left
in the form of a disc thermistor.
Manufactured Thermistors
1. bead
2. rod
3. disc
4. plates
5. Glass encapsulated
Beads → These NTC thermistors are made from
platinum alloy lead wires directly sintered into the
ceramic body. They generally offer fast response
times, better stability and allow operation at higher
temperatures than Disk and Chip NTC sensors,
→ However, they are more fragile.
→ The typical sizes range from 0.075 – 5mm in
diameter.
Glass Encapsulated → These are NTC temperature
sensors sealed in an airtight glass bubble. They are
designed for use with temperatures above 150°C, or
for printed circuit board mounting, where
ruggedness is a must. Encapsulating a thermistor in
glass improves the stability of the sensor, as well as
protecting the sensor from the environment.
→ They are made by hermetically sealing bead type
NTC resistors into a glass container.
→ The typical sizes range from 0.4-10mm in
diameter.
Disc and Chips → These NTC thermistors have
metallized surface contacts. They are larger, and as a
result have slower reaction times than bead type NTC
resistors.
→ However, because of their size, they have a higher
dissipation constant (power required to raise their
temperature by 1°C) and since power dissipated by
the thermistor is proportional to the square of the
current, they can handle higher currents much better
than bead type thermistors.
→ Disk type thermistors are made by pressing a
blend of oxide powders into a round die, which are
then sintered at high temperatures.
→ Chips are usually fabricated by a tape-casting
process where a slurry of material is spread out as a
thick film, dried and cut into shape. The typical sizes
range from 0.25-25mm in diameter.
The change in body temperature of the NTC
1. Raising external temperature:   Raising the
temperature of the external fluid, possibly air in
which the NTC thermistor is placed will cause the
body of the device to change its temperature and
hence its resistance will change.
2. Passage of current through the device:   Passing
current through any resistor including an NTC
thermistor will cause heat to be dissipated (Watts =
Volts x Amps). This will cause the temperature to
rise.
A phenomenon called self-heating may affect the
resistance of an NTC thermistor. When current flows
through the NTC thermistor, it absorbs the heat
causing its own temperature to rise.
Typical applications of NTC
They are used to measure temperature, control
temperature and for temperature compensation.
→ The main use of a thermistor is to measure the
temperature of a device. In a temperature-controlled
system, the thermistor is a small but important piece
of a larger system.
→ A temperature controller monitors the
temperature of the thermistor. It then tells a heater
or cooler when to turn on or off to maintain the
temperature of the sensor.
Other Applications
1. Mobile communication devices: temperature
monitors and battery packs
2. Computer and consumer electronics: central
processing unit (CPU) and liquid crystal display
(LCD)
3. Household electronics: refrigerators and deep
freezers, washing machines, electric cookers and
hairdryers.
4. Heating and air-conditioning: heating systems,
thermostats, room temperature monitoring,
underfloor heating and water boilers
5. Automotive electronics: cooling control units,
gearbox controls, cylinder head or braking systems
Positive Temperature Coefficient
PTC thermistors → are resistors with a positive
temperature coefficient, which means that
the resistance increases with increasing temperature.
The resistance remains constant up to a certain
temperature and suddenly increases at a certain
critical temperature.
→ Because PTC Thermistors possess positive
temperature coefficient resistance, they show a
trace amount of negative temperature coefficient
until they reach a critical temperature point known
as a “curie” or transition state.
→ When this happens, the device will begin to exhibit
a positive temperature coefficient and a significant
increase in resistance.
PTC Thermistor Types
1.) Ceramic Switching PTC Thermistors → This type
of thermistor exhibits a highly non-linear resistance-
temperature curve
Ceramic Switching PTC thermistors → are
manufactured using a polycrystalline ceramic
material that contains barium-titanate, which has
been doped with rare earth materials to give it
positive temperature coefficient resistance.
Applications (Ceramic)
1. Over-Temperature Protection
2. Over-Current Protection
3. Temperature Compensation
4. Time Delay
2.) Silicon PTC Thermistors
→ Silicon “Silistor” PTC thermistors are linear devices
which display significant positive temperature
coefficient resistance. However, should the
temperature exceed 150 °C, they would most likely
exhibit negative temperature coefficient.
→ The materials used to manufacture Silicon ‘Silistor’
thermistors are a composite of polymer materials
like semiconducting monocrystalline silicon as well
as other conductive particles.
Applications (Silicon)
1. Temperature Compensation
2. Temperature Sensing
3.) Polymeric PPTC Thermistors
→ The Polymeric thermistor (PPTC) is a positive
temperature coefficient thermistor
→ also known as a “Resettable Fuse,”
→ They display a nonlinear PTC effect and minimal
resistance
“tripping” state - if the circuit system goes into a fault
state, the PPTC responds by going into a high
resistivity. Once you have eliminated the fault
conditions, the PPTC resets itself, and the circuit
returns to its normal operating conditions.
Inrush Current → is the instantaneous high input
current drawn by a power supply or electrical
equipment at turn-on. This arises due to the high
initial currents required to charge the capacitors and
inductors or transformers. The inrush current is also
known as switch–on surge, or the input surge
current.
NTC thermistors NTC Thermistor Beta
At ambient temperature the NTC device exhibits a
high resistance, when the power is turned-on, the
high resistance limits the amount of inrush current
flowing into the circuit.

Exceptions
→ Ambient temperature is greater than room A thermistor’s “b” value, or beta value, is an
temperature: indication of the shape of the curve representing the
relationship between resistance and temperature of
→ Ambient temperature is less than room an NTC thermistor.
temperature
William Thomson – He invented the “Kelvin Scale”
→ Reset time needs to be near-zero: Certain types of Aka Kelvin in the 1800’s and it is still used in today’s
equipment, such as welding gear or a plasma cutter, temperature sensing calculations in conjunction with
switch on and off frequently as part of their normal Fahrenheit and Celsius.
operation.
Short circuit: - most important
→A short circuit drops the internal resistance of a
system to near zero, quickly raising the current the
system draws from the power supply.
→As the NTC thermistor limits this current, it quickly
increases in temperature, thus lowering its
resistance. This allows more of the current to flow
through until it can damage the system. High current
NTC Thermistor Calculating the Temperature
from a short can also destroy the NTC thermistor.
Coefficient of a Thermistor

Benefits of NTC and PTC Thermistors

NTC Thermistors are rugged, reliable, and stable, and
they are equipped to handle extreme environmental
conditions and noise immunity more so than other
types of temperature sensors.
1. Compact size: Packaging options allow them to
operate in small or tight spaces; thereby taking up
less real estate on printed circuit boards.
2. Fast response time:
The small dimensions allow for a quick response to
change in temperature, which is important when
immediate feedback is required.
3. Cost efficient:
Not only are thermistors less expensive than other
types of temperature sensors; if the purchased
thermistor has the correct RT curve, no other
calibration is necessary during installation or over its
operational life.
4. Point match: The ability to obtain a specific
resistance at a particular temperature.
5. Curve match: Interchangeable thermistors with the
accuracy of +0.1˚C to + 0.2˚C.
Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) → is a
temperature sensor that is used to measure
temperature by associating the resistance of the
Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) element
with temperature.
RTDs → work on a basic correlation between metals
and temperature. As the temperature of a metal
increases, the metal's resistance to the flow of
electricity increases.
RTD elements are typically 2 configurations:
1. Platinum or metal glass slurry film deposited or
screened onto a small flat ceramic substrate known
as "thin film" RTD elements.
2. Platinum or metal wire wound on a glass or
ceramic bobbin and sealed with a coating of molten
glass known as "wire wound" RTD elements.
Of the three RTD elements, the thin film is most
rugged and has become increasingly more accurate
over time.
Common Resistance Materials:
Nickel, copper, tungsten Sensor type Thermistor RTD Thermocouple

Temperature -70 to -200 to 200 to 1750°C

Platinum is the most commonly used metal for RTD Range 325°C 650°C
elements due to a number of factors, including its: (typical)
1. Its inertness to foreign chemicals.
Accuracy 0.05 to 0.1 to 1°C 0.5 to 5°C
2. Its Linear resistance change with temperature. (typical) 1.5°C
3. its high Temperature coefficient of resistance. This
avoids any sudden spike in resistance with respect to Long-term 0.2°C/year 0.05°C/year Variable
applied temperature. stability @
100°C
4. Its stability.
Linearity Exponential Fairly linear Non-linear

Resistance Element → is the main temperature

Power Constant Constant Self-powered
sensing portion of the Resistance Temperature
required voltage or voltage or
Detector.
current current
Length- ranges from 1/8″ to 3″.
Response Fast Generally Fast
The standard resistance- 100 Ω at 0° C temperature
time 0.12 to 10s slow 0.10 to 10s
coefficient- 00385.
1 to 50s

Susceptibility Rarely Rarely Susceptible /

Tubing Material → Stainless steel is used for
to electrical susceptible susceptible Cold junction
assemblies up to 500° F. Above 500° F Inconel 600 is
noise High compensation
used.
resistance
Wire Configuration only

→ Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTDs) are

Cost Low to High Low
available in three different wire configurations. These
moderate
configurations are 2, 3 and 4 wire configurations.
→ The most commonly used materials for wire
insulation are Fiberglass and Teflon.
→ Teflon is used up to 400° F as it is moisture
resistant. Fiberglass is used up to 1000°F.

Cold End Termination

→ RTDs can terminate on the cold end with plugs,
terminal heads, bare wires, and any of the reference
junctions common to thermocouples.

Applications
1. Air conditioning and refrigeration servicing
2. Food Processing
3.Stoves and grills
4.Textile production
5. Plastics processing
6. Petrochemical processing
7. Micro electronics
8. Air, gas and liquid temperature measurement
9. Exhaust gas temperature measurement