July 10, 2017 -- Pickering Electronics released the Reed Relay, the Series 120, at Semicon West 2017.
The Pickering Series 120 is a range of Single Pole (1 Form A) reed relays that will require a board area of 4mm x 4mm.
Two switch types are available, a general purpose sputtered ruthenium switch rated for up to 20 Watts, 1 Amp and a low level sputtered ruthenium switch rated at 10 Watts, 0.5 Amps.
These are the same reed switches as used in many other Pickering Electronics ranges but are orientated vertically within the package, allowing this density. The small size of the package does not allow an internal diode. Back EMF suppression diodes are included in many relay drivers but if they are not, and depending on drive methods, these may have to be provided externally.
The relays feature an internal mu-metal magnetic screen. Mu-metal has the advantage of a high permeability and low magnetic remanence and eliminates problems that would otherwise occur due to magnetic interaction. Relays of this small size without magnetic screening would be totally unsuitable for applications where dense packing is required.
The device has pins on a 2mm square pitch. There are suitable connectors available from some manufacturers, both SMD and Through Hole, that will allow these relays to be stacked in either a row or in a matrix on a 4mm pitch.
