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The following article describes and recommends the key features an engineer should
consider when choosing a Reed Relay.
Diode or No Diode
Reed relays often have a choice to include an internal protection diode.
The purpose of this diode is primarily to protect the device that is driving the relay coil from
the Back EMF that is generated when the current flow is interrupted.
Coil Voltage
Reed relays are supplied with a variety of coil voltage options. For logic driving 3V and 5V
drives are preferred since these voltages are directly compatible with common logic
families.
However, all the coils for a given reed switch have to have a certain number of Ampere
Turns, so as coil voltage is dropped the coil current required is increased.
LED drivers can directly support either 5V or 12V coils, open collector drivers can support
even higher voltages. However, as coil voltage increases the wire used to create the relay
coil becomes finer and harder to wind without breakages. Ultimately this limits the highest
voltage coils that can be offered.
One factor often ignored by users is the impact of temperature on coil current. The copper
winding wire has a resistance coefficient of 0.39 percent per centigrade. As the temperature
increases, so will the coil resistance with a corresponding fall in current and therefore the
level of magnetic field generated by the coil.
Consequently reed relays should have a reasonable operating margin to ensure reliable
operation in all conditions.
Magnetic Screen
For Pickering relays this takes the form of either an internal mu-metal screen or an external
mu-metal can. A magnetic shield is added to the relay to serve three purposes:
Reduce the effect of magnetic interaction between closely packed reed relays.
Reduce injection of noise into the signal path by external magnetic fields.
Increase the magnetic efficiency resulting in a reduction of the coil power needed.
If relays are to be closely packed together choose a relay with an integrated magnetic shield.
Copyright Pickering Electronics 2015. All rights reserved.
An electrostatic screen does not provide protection against an external magnetic field
inducing signals into the signal path.
RF Relays
RF relays are designed to operate to defined transmission line impedance, usually 50 or
75. The glass body is wrapped in a conductive tube and the two ends provided as an earth
contact. Provided the glass and blade dimensions are correct they form a coaxial
transmission line.
RF relay applications have to be designed with care since the prime issue is about overall
system performance and not just relay performance. If an application requires the
disconnection of the signal path and no alternative routing (for example for a protection
system) then reed relays can be a very good choice because of their fast response.