MEDER electronic REED SWITCH CHARACTERISTICS

Reed Switch Operational Characteristics

Introduction technology. Like semiconductors, any foreign particles

present in the manufacture will give rise to losses, quality
The Reed Switch was first invented by Bell Labs in the and reliability problems.
late 1930s. However, it was not until the 1940s when
it began to find application widely as a sensor and a Over the years, the Reed Switch has shrunk in size
Reed Relay. Here it was used in an assortment of step- from approximately 50 mm (2 inches) to 6 mm (0.24
ping/switching applications, early electronic equipment inches). These smaller sizes have opened up many
and test equipment. In the late 1940s Western Electric more applications particularly in RF and fast time domain
began using Reed Relays in their central office telephone requirements.
switching stations, where they are still used in some
areas today. The Reed Switch greatly contributed to the Reed Switch Features
development of telecommunications technology.
1. Ability to switch up to 10,000 Volts
Over the years several manufacturers have come and 2. Ability to switch currents up to 5 Amps
gone, some staying longer than they should have, tain- 3. Ability to switch or carry as low as 10 nanoVolts
ting the marketplace with poor quality, and poor reliability. without signal loss
However, most of the manufacturers of Reed Switches 4. Ability to switch or carry as low as 1 femtoAmp
today produce very high quality and very reliable swit- without signal loss
ches. This has given rise to unprecedented growth. 5. Ability to switch or carry up to 7 GigaHz with mini-
mal signal loss
Today Reed Switch technology is used in all market 6. Isolation across the contacts up to 1015 Ω
segments including: test and measurement equipment, 7. Contact resistance (on resistance) typical 50 mil-
medical electronics, Telecom, automotive, security, ap- liOhms (mΩ)
pliances, general purpose, etc. Its growth rate is stronger 8. In its off state it requires no power or circuitry
than ever, where the world output cannot stay abreast 9. Ability to offer a latching feature
with demand. 10. Operate time in the 100 µs to 300 µs range
11. Ability to operate over extreme temperature
As a technology, the Reed Switch is unique. Being ranges from –55 oC to 200 oC
hermetically sealed, it can exist or be used in almost 12. Ability to operate in all types of environments
any environment. Very simple in its structure, it crosses including air, water, vacuum, oil, fuels, and dust
many technologies in its manufacture. Critical to its laden atmospheres
quality and reliability is its glass to metal hermetic seal, 13. Ability to withstand shocks up to 200 Gs
where the glass and metal used must have exact linear 14. Ability to withstand vibration environments of 50
thermal coefficients of expansion. Otherwise, cracking Hz to 2000 Hz at up to 30 Gs
and poor seals will result. Whether sputtered or plated, 15. Long life. With no wearing parts, load switching
the process of applying the contact material, usually under 5 Volts at 10 mA, will operate well into the
Rhodium or Ruthenium, must be carried out precisely billions of operations
in ultra clean environments similar to semiconductor

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 REED SWITCH CHARACTERISTICS MEDER electronic

The Basic Reed Switch

Shown below Figure #1 Switch. Multiple switch usage in a given configuration

is described as 2 Form A ( two normally open switches
or Double Pole Single Throw (DPST)), 3 Form A (three
normally open switches), etc. A normally closed (N.C.)
switch is described as a 1 Form B. A switch with a
common blade, a normally open blade and a normally
closed blade (see Figure # 2) is described as a 1 Form
C (single pole double throw (SPDT)).
(Figure #1. The basic hermetically sealed Form 1A (normally
open) Reed Switch and its component makeup).

A Reed Switch consists of two ferromagnetic blades

(generally composed of iron and nickel) hermetically
sealed in a glass capsule. The blades overlap internally
in the glass capsule with a gap between them, and make
contact with each other when in the presence of a sui-
table magnetic field. The contact area on both blades is
plated or sputtered with a very hard metal, usually Rho-
(Figure #2. The 1 Form C (single pole double throw) three
dium or Ruthenium. These very hard metals give rise
leaded Reed Switch and its component makeup.)
to the potential of very long life times if the contacts are
not switched with heavy loads. The gas in the capsule
The common blade (or armature blade), the only moving
usually consists of Nitrogen or some equivalent inert
reed blade, is connected to the normally closed blade in
gas. Some Reed Switches, to increase their ability to
the absence of a magnetic field. When a magnetic field of
switch and standoff high voltages, have an internal va-
sufficient strength is present, the common blade swings
cuum. The reed blades act as magnetic flux conductors
over to the normally open blade. The normally open
when exposed to an external magnetic field from either
and normally closed blades always remain stationary.
a permanent magnet or an electromagnetic coil. Poles
All three reed blades are ferromagnetic; however, the
of opposite polarity are created and the contacts close
contact area of the normally closed contact is a non-ma-
when the magnetic force exceeds the spring force of the
gnetic metal which has been welded to the ferromagnetic
reed blades. As the external magnetic field is reduced so
blade. When exposed to a magnetic field, both the fixed
that the force between the reeds is less than the restoring
reeds assume the same polarity, which is opposite that
force of the reed blades, the contacts open.
of the armature. The non-magnetic metal interrupts the
magnetic flux on the normally closed blade so that the
armature sees an un-interrupted flux path to the normally
The Reed Switch described above is a 1 Form A (normally
open blade, and it is that which it seeks. Here the attrac-
open (N.O.) or Single Pole Single Throw (SPST)) Reed
tive force is of sufficient magnitude between the normally
open and armature that the contacts close.

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 MEDER electronic REED SWITCH CHARACTERISTICS

To close Reed Switch contacts, two approaches are

generally used. 1. The use of a permanent magnet
(see Figure #3);

(Figure #4. A Reed Switch sitting in a solenoid where the mag-

netic field is strongest in its center. Here the reed blades be-
come polarized and an attractive force exists across the con-
tacts.)

When a permanent magnet, as shown, is brought into

the proximity of a Reed Switch the individual reeds be-
come magnetized with the attractive magnetic polarity
(Figure #3. The basic operation of a Reed Switch under the as shown. When the external magnetic field becomes
influence of the magnetic field of a permanent magnet. The strong enough the magnetic force of attraction closes
polarization of the reed blades occurs in such a manner to offer
an attractive force at the reed contacts.)
the blades. The reed blades are annealed and processed
to remove any magnetic retentivity. When the magnetic
or 2. The use of a coil wound with copper insulated wire field is withdrawn the magnetic field on the reed blades
(see Figure #4). also dissipates. If any residual magnetism existed on the
reed blades, the Reed Switch characteristics would be
altered. Proper processing and proper annealing clearly
are important steps in their manufacturing.

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