Performance of thin-film chip resistors

Increased use of thin-film surface mount chip resisters in military and high-performance industrial equipment has led to an increased awareness of potential failure modes in harsh environments. In this work, we have studied the behavior of chip resistors fabricated from tantalum nitride and nichrome metal films under biased humidity and have measured widely different results attributable to the metal film, and protective system. The effects of electrostatic discharge (ESD) and high-temperature stability on these small resistive devices was also examined and related to the resistor design