Pickering unveils ultra-small through-hole reed relays

By Heather Hamilton, contributing writer

Pickering Electronics, a manufacturer of reed relays for use in instrumentation and test equipment, recently launched what it claims is the smallest through-hole reed relay in the industry. The new Series 124 offers ultra-high-density 4-mm² reed relays that stack on a 4 × 4-mm pitch. The relays also boast a low profile at 9.5 mm high.

Series 124 relays are available in 1 Form A with 3-V or 5-V coil options. The relays feature a sputtered ruthenium switch rated at 5 V, 0.5 A like Pickering’s Series 111, 111P, and 117 relays, but they are placed vertically in the package to allow for higher density.

The new series features a fast operate time, typically 80 µs. The fast operate time, along with its high density, makes it well-suited for high-density applications like automatic test equipment (ATE) and semiconductor switching matrices or multiplexers.

This is Pickering’s second series of ultra-high-density single-pole relays. Devices in the Series 120 were released last year. They were rated up to 1.0 A at 20 W with a higher profile height.