Electronics

Thermal fuse offers triple failure protection

The RTS (Reflow Thermal Switch) with shunt from SCHURTER prevents thermal runaway, providing an additional element in the safety chain. 

At just 6.6mm x 8.8mm, the RTS combines three functions on the SMD component: overtemperature and overcurrent protection as well as current measurement. This enables a cost-effective increase in safety, especially in automotive and industrial applications. The thermal fuse is available at Rutronik UK.

Extremely powerful yet small electronic products are at risk of overheating (thermal runaway) due to self-reinforcing processes that produce heat. This can lead to the destruction of a component or the entire product and, in the worst-case scenario, even to fires or explosions. 

The RTS is placed as close as possible to the component to be protected and disconnects it from the circuit if a specific threshold value for the ambient temperature of the power semiconductor is exceeded. 

The level of the current flowing through can also be measured and, if necessary, corrected by adding a shunt measuring resistor.

Operating currents of 130A and nominal DC voltages of 60 V can be processed without any problems for the RTS from SCHURTER. 

The standard version has a measuring sensor resistance of 500μΩ and a trigger temperature of 210° C.

The RTS with shunt is suitable for 12 V and 48 V applications in automotive power electronics. These include cooling fan applications, ABS, power steering, PTC heaters, HVAC, glow plugs, and diesel radiators.

In the industrial environment, it is particularly suitable for areas such as battery protection, power supply units, lighting for ballasts, H-bridge circuits, and motor drives.

The standard versions can be used for an individual solution with adapted parameters, e.g. the level of the resistance or the tripping temperature, also meet customer-specific requirements.