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Rugged Relays Go Where Solid-State Switches Fear to Tread

May 8, 2025

Pickering and Microchip march on with new electromechanical solutions that handle tasks which are still a struggle for their solid-state counterparts.

Lee Goldberg

Related To:

Electronic Design

While exotic semiconductors enjoy most of the glory in the power universe, venerable relay technology continues to evolve and take on tasks that are problematic for their solid-state cousins. Two notable recent developments in relay technology come from Microchip Technology and Pickering Electronics.

Microchip Technology's BR235 and BR235D series of 25A QPL hermetically sealed electromechanical power relays are specifically engineered for mission-critical commercial aviation, defense, and space applications. These 25-A 3PDT-rated devices meet the requirements of the MIL-PRF-83536 specification and ISO-9001 certification.

The relays are available in multiple variants in suppressed or non-suppressed coil voltages from 6 to 48 V DC and 115 V AC, mounting styles with and without mounting tabs in different orientations, straight or J-Hook terminal pin types, and tin or gold plating. For more information, visit the web page.

Pickering Electronics introduced a new 20-kV addition to its high-voltage Series 63 range. The relay is designed for demanding high-voltage applications, featuring up to 20-kV stand-off and 12.5-kV switching at a maximum of 50 W. Tungsten-plated contacts ensure a long and reliable life, supporting up to 100 million operations when cold switching.

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The device was designed for a variety of high-voltage testing and switching applications, including hi-pot testers, high-end cable testers, electric-vehicle charge point testing, solar-energy systems, medical equipment, and high-voltage instrumentation. For more about Pickering’s family of high-voltage relays, go here.

About the Author

Lee Goldberg | Contributing Editor

Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.

Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.

Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.

Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.

Lee also writes the regular PowerBites series.