Bourns today announced the CRK2725 Series Metal Strip, Wide-Terminal Current Sense Resistors for current sensing and power management applications. The surface-mount series combines resistance values from 0.2 mΩ to 1 mΩ with a 5 W power rating at 70 °C, helping designers measure current in high-current circuits while limiting resistor power loss and heat generation.
Current sensing resistors must balance measurement accuracy, power handling, thermal performance, and PCB area. Parasitic inductance can introduce measurement error in fast-switching circuits, while thermal electromotive force can affect precision as operating temperatures change. Higher shunt resistance also increases I²R losses in the measurement path. The CRK2725 Series addresses these constraints with a wide-terminal metal strip design, inductance below 5 nH, thermal EMF below 40 µV/°C, and an operating temperature range from -55 °C to +170 °C.
“Designers working with high-current power circuits need to control the electrical and thermal effects introduced by the current sensing element. The CRK2725 Series combines resistance values down to 0.2 mΩ with inductance below 5 nH and thermal EMF below 40 µV/°C. These characteristics support current measurement where power loss, switching behavior, and temperature-related error must be considered together.”
Walter Garcia, Product Line Manager, Bourns