Resistors regulate the flow of an electric current, ensuring smooth circuit operations. There are many types of resistors, but only two companies in the world make super-precise metal foil resistors.

One of these companies is Alpha Electronics Corporation. It has about 150 employees, and runs a factory in Akita Prefecture. Its workforce is small, but its technical level is high, because all employees are highly skilled. In 1995, Alpha unexpectedly received an order for metal foil resistors from NASA.

"In February 1997, after an American research institute completed some tests, a NASA official and a satellite engineer made their way through the heavy snow of Akita Prefecture to inspect our products at the factory," says Suzuki Shunsuke, the head of the company's administrative planning department.

The company makes metal foil resistors by fusing a nickel chromium foil onto a substrate, then burning a resistor pattern (i.e., circuit) onto it. The foil is only a few micrometers thick (1 micrometer is 1-millionth of a meter). The resistor's most distinguishing feature is that it is very resistant to temperature changes. Practically no deformation is observed during temperature fluctuations between -65 and 175 °C. During a 10,000-hour accelerated aging test, the change was only 1 unit per 1,000,000. This proved that the material is ideal for satellite components, which must operate under harsh temperature changes and long hours of use in space.

Suzuki explains, "NASA satellites now use about 10,000 of our resistors in sensor components. Each resistor is extremely important. If even one breaks down, system capacity drops by half."

Little wonder, then, that Alpha Electronics is strengthening its product inspection system and improving its measuring devices to even higher levels. The company is doing everything necessary to make superior products, using the latest technology and highly precise testing methods.