Varistor

A varistor is an electronic component with an electrical resistance that varies with the applied voltage. Also known as a voltage-dependent resistor (VDR), it has a nonlinear, non-ohmic current–voltage characteristic that is similar to that of a diode. In contrast to a diode however, it has the same characteristic for both directions of traversing current. Traditionally, varistors were indeed constructed by connecting two rectifiers, such as the copper-oxide or germanium-oxide rectifier in anti-parallel configuration. At low voltage the varistor has a high electrical resistance which decreases as the voltage is raised. Modern varistors are primarily based on sintered ceramic metal-oxide materials which exhibit directional behavior only on a microscopic scale. This type is commonly known as the metal-oxide varistor (MOV).Western Electric 3B varistor made in 1952 for use as click suppressor in telephone setsCircuit of the traditional construction of varistors used as click suppressors in telephonyTraditional varistor schematic symbol, used today for the diac. It expresses the diode-like behavior in both directions of current flow.Western Electric Type 44A varistor manufactured in 1958, mounted on a U1 telephone receiver element for click suppression. A varistor is an electronic component with an electrical resistance that varies with the applied voltage. Also known as a voltage-dependent resistor (VDR), it has a nonlinear, non-ohmic current–voltage characteristic that is similar to that of a diode. In contrast to a diode however, it has the same characteristic for both directions of traversing current. Traditionally, varistors were indeed constructed by connecting two rectifiers, such as the copper-oxide or germanium-oxide rectifier in anti-parallel configuration. At low voltage the varistor has a high electrical resistance which decreases as the voltage is raised. Modern varistors are primarily based on sintered ceramic metal-oxide materials which exhibit directional behavior only on a microscopic scale. This type is commonly known as the metal-oxide varistor (MOV). Varistors are used as control or compensation elements in circuits either to provide optimal operating conditions or to protect against excessive transient voltages. When used as protection devices, they shunt the current created by the excessive voltage away from sensitive components when triggered. The name varistor is a portmanteau of varying resistor. The term is only used for non-ohmic varying resistors. Variable resistors, such as the potentiometer and the rheostat, have ohmic characteristics. The development of the varistor, in form of a new type of rectifier based on a cuprous oxide layer on copper, originated in the work by L.O. Grondahl and P.H. Geiger in 1927. The copper-oxide varistor exhibited a varying resistance in dependence on the polarity and magnitude of applied voltage. It was constructed from a small copper disk, of which one side was formed a layer of cuprous oxide. This arrangement provides low resistance to current flowing from the semiconducting oxide to the copper side, but a high resistance to current in the opposite direction, with the instantaneous resistance varying continuously with the voltage applied. In the 1930s, small multiple-varistor assemblies of a maximum dimension of less than one inch and apparently indefinite useful lifetime found application in replacing bulky electron tube circuits as modulators and demodulators in carrier current systems for telephonic transmission. Other applications for varistors in the telephone plant included protection of circuits from voltage spikes and noise, as well as click suppression on receiver (ear-piece) elements to protect users' ears from popping noises when switching circuits. These varistors were constructed by layering an even number of rectifier disks in a stack and connecting the terminal ends and the center in an anti-parallel configuration, as shown in the photo of a Western Electric Type 3B varistor of June 1952 (below). The Western Electric type 500 telephone set of 1949 introduced a dynamic loop equalization circuit using varistors that shunted relatively high levels of loop current on short central office loops to adjust the transmission and receiving signal levels automatically. On long loops, the varistors maintained a relatively high resistance and did not alter the signals significantly. Another type of varistor was made from silicon carbide by R. O. Grisdale in the early 1930s. It was used to guard telephone lines from lightning.