PTCs Protect Circuits When Heated

Made from a conductive plastic that produces a large non-linear positive temperature coefficient (PTC) effect when heated, Polytron series of resettable PTC circuit protection products can be used in almost any application where there is a low voltage power source and load such as computers and peripherals, telecomm, automotive, and consumer electronics. When the conductive plastic material is at room temperature, numerous carbon chains provide conductive paths through the material. Under fault conditions, heat increases to the transformation temperature changing the amorphous structure to non-conducting. When the fault condition is removed, the material cools and circuit function resumes. The devices come in axial, radial and surface-mount configurations.