Frequently Asked Questions | Quantic Ohmega Ticer |
Frequently Asked Questions

OhmegaPly is a true thin-film, Nickel-Phosphorous (NiP) alloy. In the manufacturing process, about 0.05 to 1.00 microns of the alloy is electro-deposited onto the treated (rougher), side of electrodeposited copper foil.

Ticer TCR is vapor deposited nanometer thin film alloys of Ni (Nickel Chromium, Nickel Chromium Aluminum Silicon or Chromium Silicon Monoxide) on the treated (rougher) side of electrodeposited copper foil.

The copper foil is standard electrodeposited copper. Standard treatment (treated on one side) coppers of 3/8 oz., 0.5 oz and 1 oz are available. Double-treat copper (treated on both sides) is also available.

We are developing products that apply resistive thin films to very thin copper layers (≤5 microns) on a thicker copper base (18 microns). After lamination you remove the base and can process the remaining layers with the modified semi-additive process (mSAP) to create extremely fine lines.

There are multiple options available:

You can buy OhmegaPly and TCR as foils and laminate them to your preferred material.

You can buy them as laminates from the copper clad material suppliers on most of the dielectric materials offered in the industry.

You can also order OhmegaPly laminate from us and we will arrange the lamination with the suppliers.

OhmegaPly is available in 10 ohm per square (OPS) at ±3% tolerance, 25 OPS, 40 OPS, 50 OPS and 100 OPS sheet resistivity at ±5% tolerance. Additionally, 250 OPS and 377 OPS products are available at ±10% tolerance and ±15% tolerance, respectively.

Ticer TCR is available in 25 OPS, 50 OPS, 100 OPS, 250 OPS and 1000 OPS sheet resistivity at ±7% tolerance (by coefficient of variation).

Yes. The value of the resistor is determined by the ratio of the length of the resistor to its width multiplied by the sheet resistivity used. The number and values of the resistors used are a function of the dimensions as defined in the artwork.

No. The resistors are almost always incorporated into an existing plane of circuitry. For parallel termination and pull-up applications, the resistors are usually placed on a voltage plane. For series termination the resistors are usually placed on a signal plane. The resistors can be used on an internal layer of the circuit board, or can be used on a surface layer.

The nominal cumulative resistor tolerance is a function of resistor size, number of resistors on the board and the size of the board itself. Normally, an 8% to 15% tolerance is achievable for resistors which are multiple squares and a minimum of 20 mils wide. Most applications for termination or pull-up resistors can accommodate this tolerance range. For partial square resistors or designs using 100 ohm per square material with multiple resistor values and shapes on a layer, a 15-20% tolerance is what most board shops request.

The size of the resistor is only limited by the board shop’s ability to etch accurate lines. As a rule of thumb, the larger the resistor, the better. Most resistor line widths are between 5 and 20 mils, with 10 mils being the most common. There have been resistor applications with line widths less than 5 mils, but currently these are the exception rather than the rule.

The amount of power that can be applied to the resistor is limited by the size of the resistor, the thermal management of the heat generated from the resistor, and the type of dielectric material used. A typical power rating would be about 1/8 watt; this can be increased with the use of heat sinks and higher temperature laminate materials.

OhmegaPly and Ticer TCR materials are RoHS and REACH compliant. Certificates of Compliance are available upon request. Material Data Safety Sheets are available in the Technical Library section.

•Designs with a high resistor density make excellent candidates as they more fully utilize the resistive material and can allow for reduced circuit size.

•High frequency applications benefit from the elimination of vias and solder joints that degrade performance (lower impedance and EMI). They can also replace costly high frequency surface mount resistors.

•Designs requiring localized heating, such as medical devices or instrumentation in space applications. (Contact us for more information and design guidance.)

Yes. High-frequency applications, like power dividers/combiners, attenuators, and equalizers, all benefit from the lower parasitic inductance and capacitance of the embedded resistors.  The elimination of the need to go from the trace, up through a via, across a solder joint, through the resistor, another solder joint, and back down to the trace greatly improves the electrical performance. Many applications are running at over 40 GHz, with several operating over 100 GHz.

The various CAD software programs do not specifically have menu items for adding embedded resistors. There are, however, methods that have been developed to allow the use of the existing software to embed resistors.  In our Technical Library, we have a Technical Bulletin that explains how to incorporate embedded resistors using Altium Designer 25 and Cadence OrCad X/ Allegro.  The methodology for these programs will be similar to that of other design software.  To access the bulletin, you can register for free access to our Technical Library and then visit the Design Software Guidelines section.