Film resistors having trimmable electrodes

A resistor device comprising:

• an electrical insulating substrate;
• a pair of separated electrically conductive electrodes on a surface of said substrate;
• an electrical resistance film formed on said substrate surface between said separated electrodes and having a width-wise dimension such that regions of said substrate surface are interposed between said film and each of said electrodes;
• and
• a plurality of electrically conductive fingers each having one end integral with one of said electrodes and a terminal end which is in electrical contact with said film, said fingers between said one and terminal ends thereof electrically bridging a respective one of said interposed substrate surface regions;
• wherein
• said fingers of one of said electrodes are alternately disposed relative to said fingers of the other of said electrodes such that at least one pair of said alternately disposed fingers is separated by a first predetermined dimension which is different from a second predetermined dimension separating at least one other pair of said alternately disposed fingers so as to establish respective segments of said electrical resistance film having lengths corresponding to said first and second predetermined dimensions and thereby establish respectively different resistance values of said electrical resistance film upon severing of at least one of said alternately disposed fingers;
• wherein
• said fingers are severable at a location coextensive with said respective one of said interposed substrate surface regions such that severing at least one finger of said one and other pairs of said alternately disposed fingers changes a resistance value of said resistor device to an extent corresponding to said respectively different resistance value of said electrical resistance film.

A film resistor comprising:

• a substrate;
• an active resistor body disposed on said substrate;
• and
• electrodes disposed on said substrate laterally of said active resistor body such that respective regions of said substrate separate said electrodes from said active resistor body;
• wherein
• said electrodes include several fingers which extend across said respective substrate regions into electrical communication with said active resistor body, said fingers being severable at a location coextensive with said respective substrate regions to disable electrical communication with said film resistor without disturbing said active resistor body and thereby obtain a desired resistance value thereof.

In a trimmable film resistor comprising an insulating substrate, an active resistor body disposed on a surface of said substrate, and a pair of electrodes disposed on said surface of said substrate in electrical communication with said active resistor body, the improvement wherein:

• several elongate fingers extend from each one of the electrodes toward each other of the electrodes such that fingers of said each one of the electrodes are alternately disposed on said active resistor body relative to fingers of said other of the electrodes;
• and wherein
• surface regions of said substrate are interposed between said active resistor body and said electrodes such that said fingers of each one of said electrodes extend across a respective one of said surface regions;
• and wherein
• at least one of said several elongate fingers is severed at a location coextensive with said respective one of said interposed surface regions to disable electrical communication of said at least one of said several elongate fingers with said active resistor body and obtain a desired resistance value thereof.