The extended range variants switch up to 1 amp and 20 watts, and feature 3, 5, or 12-volt coils, all in a compact 5 mm x 5 mm footprint. Thanks to their instrumentation-grade switches, the relays excel in mixed-signal environments, offering high insulation resistance and low contact resistance.
“The ultra-high-density form factor of the 125 Series is designed so engineers no longer have to compromise between performance and space, making it ideal for those who need to maximize PCB space in applications such as switching matrices or ATE (automated test equipment) multiplexers,” said Robert King, product manager for Reed Relays at Pickering Electronics. “Our expanded 125 Series, already offering the world’s smallest bipolar reed relay, now adds one coaxial Form A, one Form B, one Form C, and one Form A option, enabling record channel density and greater routing flexibility on space-constrained boards.”
Three types of switches are now available, the first two featuring powder-coated ruthenium contacts for long service life and high reliability. The Type 1 switch is suitable for general-purpose applications, rated at 15 W, 1 A (3 and 5 V coils) or 20 W, 1 A (12 V coils). It has a copper layer beneath the ruthenium to help dissipate heat from the contact area, improving its inrush current handling capability and making it more suitable for higher power applications. The Type 2 switch is particularly well-suited for switching low currents and/or voltages, rated at 10 W and 0.5 A, and should be selected for low-level or cold-switching applications. The Type 3 switch is a rhodium-plated changeover switch rated at 2 W and 0.1 A.
The coaxial Type 1 Form A reed relays are designed for a characteristic impedance of 50 Ω and are suitable for switching high-frequency RF signals above 1 GHz. King added, “Reed relays are the ideal solution for high-speed RF and digital signal switching, offering a smaller size and faster response time than electromagnetic relays (EMRs), lower insertion loss and better DC load handling than solid-state relays (SSRs), and superior hot-switching performance compared to MEMS switches.”
Mu-metal, known for its high permeability and low magnetic remanence, provides effective magnetic shielding. This eliminates problems that would otherwise be caused by magnetic interaction, which is typically measured as the percentage increase in voltage required to operate a relay when two additional relays are also operating on either side. By comparison, an unshielded device placed next to another would typically exhibit an interaction of around 40%. Therefore, without magnetic shielding, even relays of this small size would be unsuitable for applications requiring dense packaging. The 125 Series relays typically achieve an interaction of only 1%. “The full mu-metal magnetic shielding enables parallel packaging without the risk of magnetic interaction, allowing a total of 288 125 Series relays to be placed on a PXI BRIC matrix sub-board for very high-density switching applications, resulting in significant cost and space savings,” says King.
An internal diode prevents voltage spikes caused by inductive backfeed when the relay coil is de-energized, providing a safe path for current to dissipate, reducing electrical noise, and protecting sensitive components from potential damage. Additional manufacturing options are available upon request, including unique pin configurations, non-standard coil voltages/resistances, energization/de-energization times, pulse capability, special lifetime testing under customer-specific load conditions, and more.
Pickering's reputation for innovation in reed relays is built on decades of manufacturing excellence. All relays utilize instrumentation-grade reed switches for stable, long-life operation (up to billions of cycles), along with a formless coil construction and the company's patented SoftCenter™ technology, which enhances mechanical robustness. Mu-metal shielding enables high packing densities with minimal magnetic interference, and all relays undergo 100% testing, including dynamic contact waveform analysis, to ensure consistent quality. Discover here the 10 key advantages that Pickering Reed Relays offer over competing relays.
