Ceramic Resistor Failure

Chip resistor failure modes.

Ceramic resistor failure.

Gideon analytical laboratories received an rnc70h1963fs resistor for electronic failure analysis. Resistors act to reduce current flow and at the same time act to lower voltage levels within circuits. One often overlooked factor that affects 2010 and 2512 size ceramic substrate based chip resistors both thick and thin film is the potential for parts cracking or for solder joint failure. Surges are large voltages or currents instantaneously applied to circuits.

The only exception to this rule is the thin film. A resistor is a passive two terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. Electronic components have a wide range of failure modes these can be classified in various ways such as by time or cause. Careful analysis of application conditions and proper pcb design greatly reduce the occurrence of this failure but in some cases chip resistors built on.

Failures can be caused by excess temperature excess current or voltage ionizing radiation mechanical shock stress or impact and many other causes in semiconductor devices problems in the device package may cause failures due to contamination mechanical stress of. The source of resistor failures is generally due to outside environmental factors such as handling damage or external stress. Failures seldom occur due to a failure of the resistive element itself. High vibration or shock can also degrade the interface for large mass resistors.

Over time the ballast resistor can be damaged by normal wear and tear so there are a few things to look for when you suspect a bad or failing ballast resistor needs servicing. Well known examples include lightning and static electricity.