Thermal and Radiation Stability of Thin-Film Cermet Resistive Elements

Recent laboratory experiments indicate that cermet thin-film resistors consisting of an 80/20 mixture of chromium and silicon monoxide can be fabricated to high sheet resistances up to 4500 ohms per square. These films show a pronounced thermal stability of <1 ppm/°C from -50°C to +175°C. Radiation stability of the films is ≤1% variance in absolute resistance for fluences up to 1 × 1015 e/cm2 at a 1.5 MeV energy level.