Rapid-response ceramic thermistor fibers

Barium titanate PTCR thermistors in the form of 250 and 125 μm-diameter fibers have been fabricated via thermoplastic powder extrusion. These thermistors are significantly smaller than conventional thermistors and their resistance ratings can be adjusted easily prior to electroding simply by cutting a given sintered fiber to the correct length. Due to their negligible size and thermal mass, these ultra-small thermistors exhibit much faster responses to changes in their operating conditions than commercially-available millimeter-scale PTCR elements and should be less prone to thermal shock damage.