August 15, 2007 — Microbridge Technologies Inc., provider of analog calibration products, has introduced the MBT-303-A rejustor (re-adjustable resistor), which it calls “the world’s first passive electronic temperature compensation (eTC) divider.” The micro device is designed for managing temperature in precise analog circuits, optical systems, sensors, and power supply compensation and calibration across a wide range of applications. It’s the first in a family of resistor dividers and networks employing eTC technology.

“This is perhaps the most important improvement to the resistor in more than a century,” said Bob Frostholm, vice president, marketing and strategic alliances at Microbridge. Until now it has not been possible to automate the adjustment process to compensate for temperature-induced drift using only analog components. The MBT-303-A, configured using Microbridge’s Rejust-it software, is the first passive device to solve analog problems in the analog domain using devices that are suitable for small volume niche markets to mass produced commercial products.

The MBT-303-A is a high accuracy dual 30K ohm divider (two resistors in series) where each resistor can be set to any value between 21K and 30K ohms with an accuracy of 0.01%. Having two rejustor elements in the same package makes it easier to implement divider networks where resistors must be equally matched. The unit enables automated, independent adjustment of both resistance and the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR), which determines how resistance changes as the temperature changes. Control of TCR that is independent of ohmic value enables the MBT-303-A to not only provide one to two orders of magnitude performance improvement for analog designs but also maintain consistency of resistance over an extended temperature range for circuits that require set-on-test calibration and compensation.