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IntroductiontoRTDs
ResistanceTemperatureDetectors(RTDs)relyonthepredictableandrepeatablephenomenaoftheelectrical
resistanceofmetalschangingwithtemperature.
Thetemperaturecoefficientforallpuremetalsisofthesameorder0.003to0.007ohms/ohm/C.Themostcommon
metalsusedfortemperaturesensingareplatinum,nickel,copperandmolybdenum.Whiletheresistancetemperature
characteristicsofcertainsemiconductorandceramicmaterialsareusedfortemperaturesensing(seesectionson
SemiconductorandThermistor),suchsensorsaregenerallynotclassifiedasRTDs.
AprecisionRTDTemperatureCalculatorsupportingfourRTDtypescanprovidea"handson"understandingofRTD
characteristics.

HowareRTDsconstructed?
RTDsaremanufacturedintwoways:usingwireorfilm.WireRTDsareastretchedcoiloffinewireplacedinaceramic
tubethatsupportsandprotectsthewire.Thewiremaybebondedtotheceramicusingaglaze.Thewiretypesare
generallythemoreaccurate,duetothetightercontrolovermetalpurityandlessstrainrelatederrors.Theyarealso
moreexpensive.

FilmRTDsconsistofathinmetalfilmthatissilkscreenedorvacuumsplutteredontoaceramicorglassysubstrate.A
lasertrimmerthentrimstheRTDtoitscorrectresistancevalue.
Filmsensorsarelessaccuratethanwiretypes,buttheyarerelativelyinexpensive,theyareavailableinsmallsizesand
theyaremorerobust.FilmRTDscanalsofunctionasastraingaugesodon'tstrainthem!Thealuminaelementshould
besupportedbygreaseoralightelastomer,butneverembeddedinepoxyormechanicallyclampedbetweenhard
surfaces.

RTDscannotgenerallybeusedintheirbasicsensingelementform,astheyaretoodelicate.Theyareusuallybuiltinto
sometypeofassembly,whichwillenablethemtowithstandthevariousenvironmentalconditionstowhichtheywillbe
exposedwhenused.Mostcommonlythisisastainlesssteeltubewithaheatconductinggrease(thatalsodampens
vibration).Standardtubediametersinclude3,4.5,6,8,10,12and15mmandstandardtubelengthsinclude250,300,
500,750and1000mm.

CharacteristicsofRTDs
MetalRTDshavearesponsedefinedbyapolynomial:
R(t)=R0 (1+a.t+b.t2 +c.t3 )
WhereR0 istheresistanceat0C,"t"inthetemperatureinCelsius,and"a","b"and"c"areconstantsdependentonthe
characteristicsofthemetal.InpracticethisequationisaclosebutnotperfectfitformostRTDs,soslightmodifications
areoftenbemade.
Commonly,thetemperaturecharacteristicsofanRTDarespecifiedasasinglenumber(the"alpha"),representingthe
averagetemperaturecoefficientoverthe0to100Ctemperaturerangeascalculatedby:
alpha=(R100 R0 )/100.R0 inohms/ohm/C
Note:RTDscoverasufficienttemperaturerangethattheirresponseneedstobecalibratedintermsofthelatest
temperaturescaleITS90.Forassistancewithsuchcalculations,seetheRTDtemperaturecalculator.
Itisalsoofinteresttonotethatthetemperaturecoefficientofanalloyisfrequentlyverydifferentfromthatofthe

constituentmetals.Smalltracesofimpuritiescangreatlychangethetemperaturecoefficients.Sometimestrace
"impurities"aredeliberatelyaddedsoastoswamptheeffectsofundesiredimpuritieswhichareuneconomictoremove.
Otheralloyscanbetailoredforparticulartemperaturecharacteristics.Forexample,analloyof84%copper,12%
Manganeseand4%Nickelhasthepropertyofhavinganalmostzeroresponsetotemperature.Thealloyisusedforthe
manufactureofprecisionresistors.

TypesofRTDs
WhilealmostanymetalmaybeusedforRTDmanufacture,inpracticethenumberusedislimited.
Metal

Temperature
Range

Alpha

Copper

Pt

200Cto260C

0.00427

Molybdenum

Mo

200Cto200C

0.00300
0.00385

Nickel

Ni

80Cto260C

0.00672

NiFe 200Cto200C

0.00518
0.00385
0.00392
0.00377

NickelIron
Platinum

Pt

240Cto660C

Comments
Lowcost
Lowercostalternativeto
platinuminthelower
temperatureranges
Lowcost,limitedtemperature
range
Lowcost
Goodprecision.Extend
temperaturerangeto1000C
available

Othermaterialsareusedforspecialistapplications.Forexample,cryogenictemperaturesensors.

PlatinumRTDs
PlatinumisbyfarthemostcommonRTDmaterial,primarilybecauseofitslongtermstabilityinair.Therearetwo
standardPlatinumsensortypes,eachwithadifferentdopinglevelof'impurities'.Toalargeextenttherehasbeena
convergenceinplatinumRTDstandards,withmostnationalstandardsbodiesadoptingtheinternationalIEC7511983,
withamendment1in1986andamendment2in1995.TheUSAcontinuestomaintainitsownstandard.
AlltheplatinumstandardsuseamodifiedpolynomialknownastheCallendarVanDusenequation:
R(t)=R0 (1+a.t+b.t2 +c.(t100).t3 )
PlatinumRTDsareavailablewithtwotemperaturecoefficientsoralphasthechoiceislargelybasedonthenational
preferenceinyoucountry,asindicatedinthefollowingtable:
Standard

Alpha
ohms/ohm/C

R0
ohms

Polynomial
Coefficients

Countries
Australia,Austria,
Belgium,Brazil,
Bulgaria,Canada,
CzechRep,Denmark,
Egypt,Finland,France,
Germany,Israel,Italy,
Japan,Poland,
Rumania,Sth.Africa,
Turkey,Russia,UK,
USA
USA

IEC751
(Pt100)

0.00385055

100

200C<t<0C
a=3.90830x103
b=5.77500x107
c=4.18301x1012
0C<t<850C
a&basabove,but
c=0.0

SAMA
RC4

0.0039200

98.129

a=3.97869x103
b=5.86863x107
c=4.16696x1012

TheinternationalIEC751standardspecifiestoleranceclassesasindicatedinthefollowingtable.WhileonlyClassesA
andBaredefinedinIEC751,ithasbecomecommonpracticetoextendedtheClassestoCandD,whichroughly
doublethepreviouserrortolerance.ThetoleranceclassesareoftenappliedtootherRTDtypes.
ToleranceClass
ClassA
ClassB
ClassC
ClassD

ToleranceEquation
(C)
(0.15+0.002.|t|)
(0.30+0.005.|t|)
(0.40+0.009.|t|)
(0.60+0.0018.|t|)

Where|t|indicatedthemagnitudeofthetemperatureinCelsius(thatissignisdropped).Somemanufacturersfurther
subdividetheirRTDToleranceClassesintoToleranceBandsforgreaterchoiceinpriceperformanceratios.
CharacteristicsofPlatinumRTDs
TheIEC751specifiesanumberofothercharacteristicsinsulationresistance,environmentalprotection,maximum

thermoelectriceffect,vibrationtolerance,leadmarkingandsensormarking.Someofthesearediscussedbelow:
ThermoelectricEffect:AplatinumRTDgenerallyemploystwometalstheplatinumsensingelementandcopperlead
wires,makingitagoodcandidateforathermocouple.Ifatemperaturegradientisallowstodevelopalongthesensing
element,athermoelectricvoltagewithamagnitudeofabout7V/Cwillbegenerated.Thisisonlylikelytobea
problemwithveryhighprecisionmeasurementsoperatingatlowexcitationcurrents.
WiringConfigurationsandLeadMarking:Therearethreewiringconfigurationsthatcanbeusedformeasuring
resistance2,3and4wireconnections.

IEC751requiresthatwiresconnectedtothesameendoftheresistorbethesamecoloureitherredorwhite,andthat
thewiresateachendbedifferent.Seethemeasurementsectionforthemeritsofeachofthesewiringschemes.
SensorMarking:IEC751stipulatesthatasensorshouldbemarkedwithitsnominalR0value,toleranceclass,the
wiringconfigurationandtheallowabletemperaturerange.Anexamplemarkingis:
Pt100/A/3/100/+200
correspondingto100Ohmplatinum,classA,3wireconfigurationandwithatemperaturerangefrom100Cto+200C.
MeasurementCurrent:Preferredmeasurementcurrentsarespecifiedas1,2and5mA,although5mAisnotallowed
withclassAsensorsduetopotentialselfheatingerrors.

NickelRTDs
Nickelsensorsarepreferredincostsensitiveapplicationssuchasairconditioningandconsumergoods.Becausecost
isanissue,theyaregenerallymanufacturedinhigherresistancevaluesof1kor2kohmssothatasimpletwowire
connectioncanbeused(ratherthanthe3or4wireconnectionscommonwithplatinumtypes).
ThereappearstobenointernationalstandardcoveringthenickelRTD,althoughmostmanufacturersappeartofollow
IEC751(whichonlydealswithplatinumdevices)whereappropriate.Aresultingproblemisthatthereappearstobeno
widelyacceptedcalibrationforthenickelRTD.
OnemanufacturerofnickelRTDsrecommendsthefollowingpolynomial:
R(t)=R0 (1+a.t+b.t2 +d.t4 +f.t6 )
wherea=5.485x103 b=6.650x106 d=2.805x1011 andf=2.000x1017 .Thealphaforthispartis
0.00672ohms/ohm/C
Morecommonforlowtomediumprecisionmeasurementthesimplificationoftheequationisusedwitha=alpha:
R(t)=R0 (1+a.t)
whichiseasilyinvertedfortemperature:
t=(Rt/R0 1)/a=(Rt/R0 1)/0.00672
where"a"issubstitutedforthealphavalue.
Nickelislesschemicallyinertthatplatinumandsoislessstableathighertemperatures.Glasspassivationcanextend
theusefultemperaturerangeto200C,butthenickelRTDisnormallyusedforsensingintheenvironmental
temperaturerangeandinclearair.

NickelIronRTDs
LowerincostthanthepureNickelRTD,theNickelIronRTDfindsapplicationinHVACandothercostsensitive
applications.Thealpha=0.00518

CopperRTDs
Copperisrarelyusedspecificallyasasensingelement,butisoftenemployedwhenacoppercoilexistsforother
purposes.Forexampleinavibratingwirestaingaugeacoilisrequiredto"pluck"thewireandsenseitsvibration
frequency.Thesamecoilcanbeusedtosensethetemperatureofthesensorsothatitsreadingsmaybecompensated
fortemperatureinduceddrifts.Anotherapplicationisinmeasuringthetemperatureofelectricmotorandtransformer
windings.
Inthesetypesofapplications,wheretemperaturesensingisasecondaryfunction,careshouldbetakeninwindingthe
coilsothatthermalexpansionofthesystemdoesnotinducesignificantstraingaugeeffectsinthecopperwirewhich
mayaddtotheuncertaintyofthemeasurement.
ThereappearstobenointernationalstandardforcopperRTDs,howeveranalpha=0.00427ohms/ohm/Cis
commonlyused.Whenthetemperaturerangeissmall(say0Cto180C)andtheaccuracyneedsarenotgreat,a
simplelinearfunctioncanbeused:

t=(Rt/R0 1)/0.00427

MolybdenumRTDs
Molybdenumhasatemperaturecoefficientofexpansionwhichalmostperfectlymatchesthatofalumina,makingitan
idealmaterialforfilmtypeofconstruction.Theusefultemperaturerangeistypically200Cto+200Candthematerial's
alpha=0.00300ohms/ohm/C.
MolybdenumRTDsarealsoavailablewithanalpha=0.00385ohms/ohm/C(achievedbydopingwithothermetals)
whichmakesitcompatiblewiththestandardPt100devicesoverareducedtemperaturerangeandatareducedcost.

Proprietarytypes
AnumberofcompaniesmanufactureproprietaryRTDsensortypesanddonotnecessarilypublishdetailsaboutthe
sensingmaterialused.OnesuchdeviceistheTDSeriesoftemperaturesensorsfromHoneywell.Theseappeartobe
constructedbydepositingathinmetalfilmonasiliconsubstrateandtrimmingbylaser.Thebenefitsarearelativelylow
cost,simplicityand0.7Cinterchangeabilityat20C.TheresponseoftheHoneywellpartsissimilartoaplatinumRTD:
R(t)=R0 (1+3.84x103 .t+4.94x106 .t2 )
ThefollowingtablerepresentssomeoftheproprietaryRTDsensortypesmanufacturedbyavarietyofcompanies:
Sensor

Manuf.

Output

Tolerance
(range)

Package

Comments

TD4A
TD5A

Honeywell

8ohms/C
(1854ohmsat
0C)

2.5C
(40Cto150C)

TO92or
threaded
tube

Metalfilmonsiliconsubstrate

1Kor2Kat
6Cto12C
25C,+0.8%/C (55Cto+150C
Seebelow
someto300C)

SOD70,
SOT23
SOD68
SOD80

Bulkresistanceofsilicon.Keep
excitationcurrent>0.1mAand<
1mA

TO92
modified

Bulkresistanceofsilicon.

1206SMD
SOT223

SurfacemountRTDs

Leaded

Automotiveapplications

KTY81
KTY82
KTY83
KTY84
KTY85
KYY10
KTY11
KTY13
32208243
32209115
HA421
HA2421

Philips

Siemens
Heraeus
Heraeus

1Kor2Kat
1C&3.5C
25C,+0.8%/C
(50Cto+150C)
Seebelow
asforPt100&
1C
Pt1000
(50Cto130C)
4.5to15C
Pt200at25C (70to1000C)

ThePhilipsandSiemenspartsarebasedonthebulkresistancecharacteristicsofsilicon.Thisalsoallowstheuseof
standardsiliconsemiconductorfabricationequipment.Thisdesigncanbemorestablethanothersemiconductor
sensor,duetothegreatertolerancetoionmigration.However,othercharacteristics(seebelow)requirethatcarebe
takeninusingthesesensors.
Thesilicontemperaturesensor'sresistanceisgivenbytheequation:
R=Rr(1+a.(TTr)+b.(TTr)2 c.(TTi)d )
whereRristheresistanceattemperatureTranda,b,canddareconstants.Tiisaninflectionpointtemperaturesuch
thatc=0forT<Ti.
Theresistanceofsomeofbulkresistancesensorsisdependentontheexcitationcurrent(duetocurrentdensityeffects
inthesemiconductor)and,toalesserextent,onthepolarityoftheappliedvoltage.Aswithothernonpassive
temperaturesensors,selfheatingcaninduceerrors.
TheseproprietarysensorsarewellsuitedtoHVAC(heating,ventilationandairconditioning)andgeneraluseinsidethe
allowabletemperaturerange.

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