Metallized resistor and methods of manufacturing and adjusting the resistance of same
First Claim
1. An adjustable planar configured resistor comprising:
- insulative support mean;
a relatively thin layer of resistive material formed in a desired configuration on, and supported by, said support means, said resistive layer defining the main body portion of said resistor, and having at least two conductive terminals connected to end regions thereof for completing electrical connections to said main body portion, said body portion comprising a thin-film layer of resistive material formed into a series of closely spaced, serially connected segments arranged in a serpentine configuration;
a plurality of conductive bonding pads formed as an integral part, and on the upper side, of respective discrete areas of said thin film resistor body portion between at least said two terminals thereof, said bonding pads being of sufficient cross section to allow conductive short-circuiting interconnections to be made between different selected pairs thereof, after fabrication of the resistor, whenever necessary to reduce the initial nominal value of resistance of said resistor to a lower desired value.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Several planar configured, metallized resistor embodiments (25, 35, 45, 55, 65) are disclosed, as are several methods of manufacturing and resistance trimming the same, particularly to values of resistance lower than the "as fabricated" nominal value thereof. In accordance with one preferred resistor embodiment (25), a plurality of associated discrete conductive bonding pads (29) are formed on a common supporting substrate (27), with each pad being in conductive contact with a different spaced site along the body portion (25a) of the resistor between the terminating ends thereof. The bonding pads (29) are advantageously adapted to allow bonded wire connections to be made between different selected pairs thereof, after fabrication of the resistor, whenever necessary to incrementally reduce the initial nominal value of resistance of the resistor to a lower desired value.
In accordance with several other resistor embodiments (35, 55, 65), the bonding pads (41 and 42, 59, 72) thereof are arranged in clusters so as to allow the use of solder bridges, as well as bonded wires, to interconnect selected ones of adjacent pairs of the pads as required to establish a desired lower value of resistance.
Also in accordance with the principles of the invention, one illustrative resistor (45) incorporates a plurality of short-circuiting shunts (52), in addition to a plurality of bonding pads (47). The shunts are interconnected to the body portion (45a) of the resistor at different spaced sites therealong such that when selectively opened, the then existing value of resistance of the resistor is incrementally increased, whereas when short-circuit connections are selectively established between different pairs of the bonding pads (47), the then existing resistance of the resistor is incrementally decreased.
47 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An adjustable planar configured resistor comprising:
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insulative support mean; a relatively thin layer of resistive material formed in a desired configuration on, and supported by, said support means, said resistive layer defining the main body portion of said resistor, and having at least two conductive terminals connected to end regions thereof for completing electrical connections to said main body portion, said body portion comprising a thin-film layer of resistive material formed into a series of closely spaced, serially connected segments arranged in a serpentine configuration; a plurality of conductive bonding pads formed as an integral part, and on the upper side, of respective discrete areas of said thin film resistor body portion between at least said two terminals thereof, said bonding pads being of sufficient cross section to allow conductive short-circuiting interconnections to be made between different selected pairs thereof, after fabrication of the resistor, whenever necessary to reduce the initial nominal value of resistance of said resistor to a lower desired value. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. An adjustable planar confined resistor comprising:
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insulative support means; a relatively thin layer of resistive material formed in a desired configuration on, and supported by, said support means, said resistive layer defining the main body portion of said resistor, and having at lest two conductive terminals connected to end regions thereof for completing electrical connections to said main body portion, said body portion comprising a thin-film layer of resistive material formed into a series of closely spaced, serially connected segments arranged in a serpentine configuration, and, a plurality of conductive bonding pads formed as an integral part, and on the upper side, of respective discrete areas of said thin film resistor body portion between at least said two terminals thereof, said bonding pads being of sufficient cross-section, and arranged on said resistor body portion such that at least selected adjacent ones of said pads are spaced sufficiently close, to allow short-circuiting solder bridges and bonded interconnections to be selectively formed therebetween so as to lower the nominal resistance of said resistor as fabricated to a desired lower value. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5)
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6. An adjustable planar configured resistor comprising:
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insulative support means; a relatively thin layer of resistive material formed in a desired configuration on, and supported by, said support means, said resistive layer defining the main body portion of said resistor, and having at least two conductive terminals connected to end regions thereof for completing electrical connections to said main body portion, and a plurality of discrete conductive bonding pads formed on and supported by said support means, each pad being in conductive contact with a different spaced site along the body portion of said resistor between at least said two terminals thereof, said bonding pads being of sufficient cross-section, and arranged on said support means such that at least selected adjacent ones of said pads are spaced sufficientl close, to allow selectively short-circuiting solder bridges and bonded interconnections to be formed between selected adjacent pairs thereof, after fabrication of the resistor, so as to lower the nominal resistance of said resistor as fabricated to a desired lower value. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An adjustable planar configured, metallized resistor comprising:
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insulative support means; a relatively thin layer of resistive material formed in a desired configuration on and supported by said support means, said resistive layer defining the main body portion of said resistor, and having at least two conductive terminals connected to end regions thereof for completing electrical connections to said main body portion; a plurality of discrete conductive bonding pads formed on and supported by said support means, each pad being in conductive contact with a different spaced site along the body portion of said resistor between at least said two terminals thereof, said bonding pads being of sufficient cross-section to allow conductive short-circuiting interconnections to be made between different selected pairs thereof, after fabrication of the resistor, whenever necessary to reduce the initial nominal value of resistance of said resistor to a lower desired value, and a plurality of short-circuiting shunts initially formed on said support means and connected between different space points along said body portion of said resistor so as to initially respectively short out those segments of the resistor body portion disposed therebetween, said shunts, when selectively opened, causing the nominal value of the resistance of said resistor selectively as fabricated and subsequently adjusted to be increased by a predetermined magnitude, whereas said short-circuit connection when established between two selected ones of said bonding pads causes the then existing resistance of said resistor to be lowered by a predetermined magnitude. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A resistance adjustable electrical circuit comprising:
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insulative support means; an electrical circuit fabricated on at least one surface of said support means, including a resistance adjustable, planar configured resistor, said resistor comprising a relatively thin layer of resistive material formed in a desired configuration on, and supported by, said support means, said resistive layer defining the main body portion of said resistor, and having at least two conductive terminals connected to end regions thereof for completing electrical connections to said main body portion; a plurality of discrete conductive bonding pads formed on and supported by said support means, each pad being in conductive contact with a different spaced site along the body portion of said resistor between at least said two terminals thereof, said bonding pads being of sufficient cross-section to allow conductive short-circuiting interconnections to be made between different selected pairs thereof, after fabrication of the resistor, whenever necessary to reduce the initial nominal value of resistance of said resistor to a lower desired value; at least one conductive member interconnecting a selected pair of said bonding pads so as to provide a short-circuit path around that part of the resistor body portion therebetween and, thereby, lower the nominal value of resistance of said resistor as fabricated to a desired value for a given circuit application, and a plurality of short-circuiting shunts initially formed on said support means and connected between different spaced points along said body portion of said resistor, said shunts, when selectively opened, causing the nominal value of resistance of said resistor selectively as fabricated and subsequently adjusted to be increased by a predetermined magnitude, whereas said short-circuit path upon being established between said two selected ones of said bonding pads causes the then existing resistance of said resistor to be lowered by a predetermined magnitude. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method of adjusting the resistance of a planar configured, and insulatively supported resistor having two terminating ends, said method comprising the steps of:
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forming a plurality of discrete conductive bonding pads in a predetermined array on a common insulative support with the resistor, and arranging each of said bonding pads so as to be in conductive contact with a different spaced site along the body portion of said resistor between said terminating ends thereof, said formed bonding pads being of sufficient cross-section and closely spaced in at least one predetermined cluster so as to facilitate conductive short-circuiting interconnections to be made between different selected pairs thereof, after fabrication of the resistor, selectively by solder bridges and bonded wiring, whenever necessary to reduce the initial nominal value of resistance of said resistor to a lower desired value, and interconnecting at least two of said plurality of bonding pads with an auxiliary conductive member so as to provide a short-circuit path around that part of the resistor body portion therebetween and, thereby, lower the nominal value of resistance of said resistor as fabricated by a desired predetermined magnitude for a given circuit application. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of fabricating an adjustable planar configured resistor having two terminating ends, comprising the steps of:
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forming a resistive material layer on the surface of an insulative member in accordance with a predetermined pattern, said resistive layer comprising the main body portion of said resistor; forming a plurality of discrete conductive bonding pads in a predetermined array on said insulative member, and arranging each of said bonding pads so as to be in conductive contact with a different spaced site along the body portion of said resistor between said terminating ends thereof, said bonding pads being of sufficient cross-section to allow conductive short-circuiting interconnections to be made between different selected pairs thereof, after fabrication of the resistor, whenever necessary to reduce the initial nominal value of resistance of said resistor to a lower desired value, and forming a plurality of short-circuiting shunts on said insulative member, said shunts extending between different spaced points along the body portion of said resistor so as to initially respectively short out those segments of the resistor body portion disposed therebetween, said shunts, when selectively opened, causing the nominal value of resistance of said resistor selectively as fabricated and subsequently adjusted to be increased by a predetermined magnitude, whereas a short-circuit connection when established between any two selected ones of said bonding pads will cause the resistance of said resistor to be lowered by a predetermined magnitude. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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Specification