PTC Thermistors Structure and Characteristics
Linear silicon PTC thermistor and Switching Ceramic PTC Thermistors
Commercial PTC thermistors (abbreviated for Positive Temperature Coefficient of Resistance) fall into two major categories. The first category consists of thermally sensitive silicon resistors, sometimes referred to as “silistors”. These devices exhibit a fairly uniform positive temperature coefficient (about +0.77%/C) through most of their operational range, but can also exhibit a negative temperature coefficient region at temperatures in excess of 150C. These devices are most often used for temperature compensation of silicon semiconducting devices in the range of -40C to +150C.