March 25th, 2007
Folks,
I mentioned this in the quiz at the left, but am I the only one that didn't know that a 01005 passive is really not that size? The designation 01005 means that the passive should be 0.010 by 0.005 inches (10 by 5 mils) in length and width. In actuality they are 0.018 by 0.008 inches (0.4 × 0.2 mm). Likewise 0201 passives are really 0.024 by 0.012 inches (0.6 × 0.3 mm). This dramatic rounding down from the metric sizes did has not occurred in the past (e.g. a 0402 is really 0402 in size.)
So passives have gotten smaller, but not quite as much as we think.
Botton line: an 01005 is really closer to 0201 size!
Cheers,
Dr. Ron