Everything You Need To Know About NTC Thermistor

The thermistor which is integrated inside a stainless strobe is NTC. The term NTC stands for a negative temperature coefficient. These NTC thermistors have resistors which own a negative temperature coefficient which helps in decreasing the amount of resistance with increase in temperature. The thermistors are usually present in the instrument which is used resisting temperature and for limiting the flow of current in devices.

Usually, the sensitivity coefficient temperature of these thermistors is about five times greater than the silicon sensors which are used for regulation of the temperature. The typical range of the NTC sensors ranges between -55°C and 200°C.

What Is NTC Thermistor?

As per the chip type NTC thermistor supplier, the NTC thermistors is basically a thermally sensitive resistor with a resistance which is quite large and precise. The resistance can decrease with the increase in the core temperature with variation in the range of operating temperature.

Characteristics of the NTC Thermistors

In comparison to the RTD or Resistance Temperature Detectors which are made up of metal, the NTC thermistors are made up of ceramic or polymer substance. The difference in the material types leads to a difference in the response of the sensors towards the change in temperature. Several other factors also come up along with this difference like the heat capacity and reaction towards temperature.

Response to the temperature

Where most of the NTC thermistors can be suitably used within the temperature range of -55°C to 200°C, there are certain special types of NTC thermistors which can be used at temperatures near absolute zero too. There are also certain NTC thermistors which can be used in jobs where the temperature is above 150°C on an average note.

In the case of NTC sensors, the temperature sensitivity is usually expressed in terms of ‘percentage change per degree'. It depends entirely on the materials which are used and the specifics which are directly related to the production process. Typically, the values of the sensitivity temperature range between -3% to -6% at every one-degree rise in temperature.

The effect of self-heat

Whenever current flows through the Negative Temperature Coefficient Thermistor, the process of self-heating takes place. The thermistor is basically an advanced resistor which dissipates the power in the form of heat whenever the current flows through it. Heat gets generated in the core of thermistor which affects the measurements drastically.

The heat capacity

The heat capacity represents the amount of heat which is required in order to bring in an increasing effect on the temperature of the NTC thermistor by one degree. It is expressed in terms of mJ/°C by the wholesale chip type NTC thermistor supplier.

The relationship between the resistance and the temperature which is exhibited by the NTC resistors is usually nonlinear. Due to this characteristic, using these resistors has become a great challenge if you use analog circuits for measuring the temperature accurately.

However, with rapid development in the world of digital circuits, this problem can be easily solved by enabling the computing precise values and interpolation of the lookup tables. You can also get rid of this issue by solving the equations which are directly related to the NTC Curve.