Thin Film vs Thick Film Resistance Range: Thick Film Holds 35 Decade Cells Thin Film Does Not

On thin film vs thick film resistance range, thin film loses. We counted both shelves by case size and resistance decade. Thick film fills 86 of 88 cells across the 8 shared sizes; thin film fills 51. Thick film holds 35 cells thin film does not. Thin film holds zero that thick film does not.

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Thin film is the better resistor and everyone knows it. On resistance range it is the narrower one, at every footprint, with no exception. That is not a material argument, it is a catalogue count, and it is the opposite of what a selector’s default sort implies.

Venatech Limited, an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong, holds all 203 parametric export files from Walsin Technology (Walsin). This post is measured from the eleven non-empty thin film files, 93,914 rows, and the 64 non-empty chip resistor files, from which we took the 223,376 discrete single-element thick film rows — we excluded the arrays, networks, attenuators and metal plate or foil parts, because none of those is a comparable single resistor. Every part number below is real, and every count is a count of part numbers rather than pieces.

Which resistance decades does each construction serve at each case size?

Thick film serves ten or eleven decades at every size; thin film serves four to seven. We grouped both shelves by case size and by resistance decade, from 0.01 Ω to above 100 MΩ, and counted which cells hold at least one part number. Both shelves share the same eight case sizes, 0201 to 2512. Neither serves the same span inside them.

Case size	Thin film decades	Thin film range	Thick film decades	Thick film range	Decades thick adds	Decades thin adds
0201 (0603)	4	27.0 Ω – 12.0 kΩ	10	0.02 Ω – 10.0 MΩ	6	0
0402 (1005)	5	10.0 Ω – 255 kΩ	11	0.025 Ω – 100 MΩ	6	0
0603 (1608)	7	4.70 Ω – 1.00 MΩ	11	0.01 Ω – 100 MΩ	4	0
0805 (2012)	7	4.70 Ω – 2.00 MΩ	11	0.01 Ω – 100 MΩ	4	0
1206 (3216)	7	1.00 Ω – 2.49 MΩ	11	0.01 Ω – 100 MΩ	4	0
1210 (3225)	7	4.70 Ω – 2.49 MΩ	10	0.01 Ω – 22.0 MΩ	3	0
2010 (5025)	7	4.70 Ω – 3.00 MΩ	11	0.01 Ω – 100 MΩ	4	0
2512 (6432)	7	1.00 Ω – 3.00 MΩ	11	0.01 Ω – 100 MΩ	4	0
Total cells	51	—	86	—	35	0

We have not seen this counted anywhere. The grid is 8 sizes by 11 decades, 88 cells. Thick film occupies 86 of them — it misses only the top decade at 0201 and 1210. Thin film occupies 51. The 35-cell gap runs one way and the zero runs the other.

Does thin film reach any decade that thick film does not?

Not one, at any of the eight shared case sizes. We took the set of decades each shelf serves at each size and subtracted them in both directions. The thin film set is a strict subset of the thick film set, eight times out of eight. There is no footprint at which switching to thin film opens a resistance decade that thick film had closed.

That is the single most useful line in this post for a sourcing team, because it inverts a common escalation. When a thick film part cannot be found at a value, moving to thin film is often the next instinct. On resistance range alone, it cannot help — the thin film shelf starts later and ends earlier at every footprint. What it changes is tolerance and TCR inside the decades both shelves already serve, which we measured separately in our thick film against thin film TCR crossover.

Where does thin film stop at the bottom of the range?

At 1.00 Ω, and only at two case sizes. We read the minimum resistance in every thin film file. The absolute floor across all 93,914 rows is 1.00 Ω, and it exists only at 1206 and 2512 — SF12T1R00ATL is the 1206 example, an anti-sulfuration part at ±0.05% and ≦±50 ppm/°C. At 0603, 0805, 1210 and 2010 thin film stops at 4.70 Ω; at 0402 it stops at 10.0 Ω; at 0201 it stops at 27.0 Ω.

Thick film goes two full decades lower. Its floor is 0.01 Ω at 0603 and above — WW25XR010FTL is a 2512 current-sense part at 0.010 Ω, ±1%, with a TCR column reading ≦±2100 ppm/°C. Across the eight shared sizes, thick film holds 46 distinct values below 0.1 Ω and 122 between 0.1 Ω and 1 Ω. Thin film holds zero in both. If your shunt sits below 1 Ω, the thin film shelf has no answer at any footprint, and that is a two-decade hole, not a gap at one size.

Where does thin film stop at the top of the range?

At 3.00 MΩ, reached only at 2010 and 2512. We read the maximum in every file: WF25R3004TTL at 2512 is 3.00 MΩ, ±0.01%, ≦±25 ppm/°C, 1 W. At 0603 thin film stops at 1.00 MΩ with WF06Q1004TTL, and at 0402 it stops at 255 kΩ. The 1 MΩ to 10 MΩ decade holds just 48 distinct thin film values against 114 thick film values at the same sizes.

Thick film reaches 100 MΩ at six of the eight sizes. WR06W1005FTL is a 10 MΩ general purpose part at 0603, ±1%, ≦±100 ppm/°C, 1/10 W, from Thick_Film_General_Purpose_1_1_10W.xlsx. The two decades above 10 MΩ hold 115 distinct thick film values across the shared sizes and zero thin film values. So the thin film shelf is bounded above as well as below, and at 0201 and 0402 the ceiling arrives two to three decades early.

If thin film adds no decades, what does it add?

Density, and 454 resistance values that thick film does not stock anywhere. We compared the distinct resistance values on each shelf. Thin film holds 1,181 values and thick film 1,084 across the eight shared sizes — but only 727 are common. 454 thin film values appear nowhere in the 223,376-row discrete thick film export, at any case size.

Resistance decade	Thin film distinct values	Thick film distinct values	Match / mismatch
0.01 Ω – 0.1 Ω	0	46	Mismatch — thick film only
0.1 Ω – 1 Ω	0	122	Mismatch — thick film only
1 Ω – 10 Ω	108	114	Near match on count; mismatch — thin film starts at 1.00 Ω or 4.70 Ω by size
10 Ω – 100 Ω	205	117	Mismatch — thin film 1.8× denser
100 Ω – 1 kΩ	205	114	Mismatch — thin film 1.8× denser
1 kΩ – 10 kΩ	205	114	Mismatch — thin film 1.8× denser
10 kΩ – 100 kΩ	205	114	Mismatch — thin film 1.8× denser
100 kΩ – 1 MΩ	205	114	Mismatch — thin film 1.8× denser
1 MΩ – 10 MΩ	48	114	Mismatch — thick film 2.4× denser
10 MΩ – 100 MΩ	0	114	Mismatch — thick film only
above 100 MΩ	0	1	Mismatch — thick film only

That is the whole trade in one table, and we have not seen it measured. Between 10 Ω and 1 MΩ, thin film gives you 205 values per decade against thick film’s 114 — close to twice the resolution, which is what lets a divider ratio land where the arithmetic wants it rather than where the E-series allows. Outside that band thick film is the only shelf with a part at all.

What does one real 10 Ω position look like on both shelves?

Three parts, one value apart, and no two of them the same specification. We filtered both shelves to 0603 near 10 Ω. Thin film holds 10.1 Ω; thick film does not hold 10.1 Ω at any case size, and offers 10.0 Ω and 10.2 Ω either side of it.

Part number	Shelf and series	Resistance	Tolerance	TCR	Rated power	Match / mismatch vs 10.1 Ω, 0603, tight TCR
WF06B10R1TTL	Thin film WF precision	10.1 Ω	±0.01%	≦±3	1/10 W	Match on all four fields
WF06K10R0BTL	Thick film high precision TC50	10.0 Ω	±0.1%	≦±50	1/10 W	Mismatch — value 1% low, tolerance 10× wider, TCR 16.7× looser
WF06H10R2BTL	Thick film high precision TC100	10.2 Ω	±0.1%	≦±100	1/10 W	Mismatch — value 1% high, tolerance 10× wider, TCR 33× looser
WF06J1002BTL	Thick film high precision TC25	10.0 kΩ	±0.1%	≦±25	1/10 W	Mismatch — the TC25 grade exists only from 470 Ω to 470 kΩ, so it has no row near 10 Ω at all

Note the prefix trap in the first three rows: WF names both the thin film precision series and several thick film high precision series, so two parts beginning WF06 can sit on opposite shelves. The character that separates them is the fifth, which encodes the TCR and power pair. We will not tell you a part is equivalent. We will show you where it differs — confirm against both datasheets and qualify in your own circuit.

Do we hold a datasheet for either shelf?

No, for neither. We hold 28 Walsin datasheets, 451 pages, and exactly two are chip resistor sheets. We text-searched both for the series names on each shelf — WF, MF, SF, TC25, TC50, TC100 — and found none of them. The gap cuts identically both ways, which at least makes the comparison fair: it is a comparison of two un-datasheeted catalogues, and we would rather say so than imply coverage we do not have.

What we can do is send you what we hold on the lines where we hold something, and put your request for the thin film sheet on our list to Walsin. That request is the only thing that moves it.

What should a German design or sourcing team do with the decade map?

Decide the decade before the construction, not after. German instrumentation, drive, sensor and Tier-1 automotive work frequently needs both ends of the range on one board — a sub-ohm shunt and a megohm-class divider leg. No single construction covers both. The sub-ohm shunt is thick film or metal only; the tight divider leg between 10 Ω and 1 MΩ is where thin film’s 205 values per decade earn their place.

1. Split the BOM by decade first. Anything below 1 Ω or above 10 MΩ is not a thin film question at all, at any footprint.
2. Use thin film for resolution, not for reach. The 454 values thin film holds and thick film does not are all inside 10 Ω to 1 MΩ.
3. Cross the whole list in one pass. Paste up to 500 part numbers or drop your Excel or CSV into the free cross-reference tool. It decodes 18 manufacturers’ part numbers, is matched against Walsin’s published catalogue across 800,000+ crossable parts, and states every difference from your original rather than hiding it. Filter by commercial or automotive grade, or for anti-sulfuration and other special requirements.
4. Check what is in Hong Kong on ready stock, a dated snapshot as at 23 September 2026 rather than a live feed. Thin film has zero representation in that snapshot — ask us directly rather than assuming.

For the thick film side counted by case size alone, see chip resistor resistance range by case size. The full range is on the Walsin thin film range page.

The short version

Thin film vs thick film resistance range is not a close contest. Across the eight case sizes both constructions share, thick film occupies 86 of 88 (size, decade) cells and thin film 51. Thick film serves 35 cells thin film does not; thin film serves none that thick film does not. Thin film’s floor is 1.00 Ω and only at 1206 and 2512; thick film’s is 0.01 Ω. Thin film’s ceiling is 3.00 MΩ at 2010 and 2512; thick film reaches 100 MΩ at six sizes. What thin film does add is resolution: 205 distinct values per decade between 10 Ω and 1 MΩ against thick film’s 114, and 454 values that appear nowhere in the thick film export at any size.

Send us the resistance value, the footprint and the tolerance and TCR you need, and we will tell you which shelf holds a part number, which ones, and exactly where each differs from your incumbent. Qualification stays with you, and we will not pretend otherwise.

So which did your selector show you first when you typed 0.05 Ω — and did it tell you the thin film column was empty for two whole decades?

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Frequently asked questions

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