eFunda: Introduction to Resistance Temperature Detectors
engineering fundamentals Resistance Temperature Detector: Intro
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Overview

The Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) or resistance thermometer uses the fact that the resistance of metals increases with temperature. Examples are RTD's are shown schematically below.

Resistance Temperature Detectors

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Further Information
The resistance of commercially available RTDs ranges from 10 to 25,000 W. More common ones are 100, 200, and 1000 W strain-free platinum (>99.999%) probes and 10 W copper probes. Generally, the higher the resistance, the less affected the RTD will be due to small resistance/voltage fluctuations in the lead wires and circuit.

Common metals used in RTDs include platinum, copper, nickel, BalcoTM (70% Ni-30% Fe), and tungsten. Their temperature ranges are listed in the following table.

Material Temperature
Range
Note
Platinum (Pt) -260~1000 °C
(-440~1800 °F)
< 550 °C (1022 °F) in most applications
Copper (Cu) -200~260 °C
(-330~500 °F)
 
Nickel (Ni) -200~430 °C
(-330~800 °F)
Linearity is not good
Balco
(70% Ni-30% Fe)
-100~230 °C
(-150~450 °F)
Linearity is not good; cheap to fabricate; high resistance
Tungsten (W) -100~1200 °C
(-150~2200 °F)
 

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Pros and Cons

  • Pros:
  - Stable and accurate.
  - Linearity is better than thermocouples.
  - Higher signal-to-noise ratio.
  • Cons:
  - More expensive.
  - Self heating.
  - Requires a current source.
  - Response time may not be fast enough for some applications.

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