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TECHNOLOGY

Current sense resistors are specialized resistors that can be placed in series with a load or battery to measure the voltage drop across the resistor and using Ohm’s law to calculate the current flow. Current sense resistors have very low resistance values to reduce self-heating and power dissipation. They also need to be stable over time and temperature to ensure accurate measurements. Eaton offers current sense resistors using different technologies to meet the accuracy, power, and cost requirements of different applications, including many AEC-Q200 Grade 1 qualified products for automotive applications. Eaton metal foil resistors are ideal for applications that require high accuracy measurements in a small footprint.  They use a metal foil resistive element on a ceramic substrate with high thermal conductivity.  This produces resistors with very tight tolerance, low inductance, and low noise, enabling accurate current measurements in low to mid power applications. Eaton metal plate resistors have a resistive element that is formed from a solid piece of metal alloy.  This construction enables lower resistance values and a higher power rating, while also providing very low TCR for stable resistance in high temperature and high current applications. Eaton current shunts have a metal alloy resistive element with welded copper alloy terminals. This provides very low resistance and inductance with high power ratings in a compact and low-profile part that can be used to measure currents in the hundreds of amps. Across these technologies we offer reverse geometry products that have the terminals on the wide side of the resistor for improved thermal performance and mechanical stability. We also offer four terminal resistors that allow for Kelvin-style measurements in applications where accuracy is critical. These eliminate voltage errors and reduce thermal effects by separating the voltage sensing path from the current path.