Provided are a metal nitride material for a thermistor, which has a high reliability and a high heat resistance and can be directly deposited on a film or the like without firing, a method for producing the same, and a film type thermistor sensor. The metal nitride material for a thermistor consists of a metal nitride represented by the general formula: (Ti.sub.1-wCr.sub.w).sub.xAl.sub.yN.sub.z (where 0.0<w<1.0, 0.70y/(x+y)0.95, 0.4z0.5, and x+y+z=1), wherein the crystal structure thereof is a hexagonal wurtzite-type single phase.

Provided are a metal nitride material for a thermistor, which has a high reliability and a high heat resistance and can be directly deposited on a film or the like without firing, a method for producing the same, and a film type thermistor sensor. The metal nitride material for a thermistor consists of a metal nitride represented by the general formula: Cr.sub.xAl.sub.yN.sub.z (0.70y/(x+y)0.95, 0.4z0.5, and x+y+z=1), wherein the crystal structure thereof is a hexagonal wurtzite-type single phase. The method for producing the metal nitride material for a thermistor includes a deposition step of performing film deposition by reactive sputtering in a nitrogen-containing atmosphere using a CrAl alloy sputtering target.

Provided are a metal nitride material for a thermistor, which has a high reliability and a high heat resistance and can be directly deposited on a film or the like without firing, a method for producing the same, and a film type thermistor sensor. The metal nitride material for a thermistor consists of a metal nitride represented by the general formula: (Ti.sub.1-vCr.sub.v).sub.xAl.sub.y (N.sub.1-wO.sub.w).sub.z (where 0.0<v<1.0, 0.70y/(x+y)0.95, 0.45z0.55, 0<w0.35, and x+y+z=1), wherein the crystal structure thereof is a hexagonal wurtzite-type single phase.

An electronic component is disclosed. In an embodiment, the electronic component includes a plurality of functional layers arranged one on top of the other forming a stack, first inner electrodes, and second inner electrodes, each of the first and second inner electrodes arranged between two adjacent functional layers. The electronic component further includes a first outer contact electrically connected to the first inner electrodes and a second outer contact electrically connected to the second inner electrodes, wherein the functional layers are selected such that the first and second outer contacts are electrically conductively connected to one another via the functional layers both in a basic state and in a hot state of the electronic component, wherein a temperature of the hot state is higher than a temperature of the basic state, and wherein the electronic component is an NTC component.

Provided is a thin-film resistor that has a higher resistance value than the conventional thin-film resistors while retaining excellent TCR characteristics. The thin-film resistor includes a substrate, a pair of electrodes formed on the substrate, and a resistive film connected to the pair of electrodes. The resistive film includes a first resistive film and a second resistive film, the second resistive film having a different TCR from that of the first resistive film, and each of the first resistive film and the second resistive film contains Si, Cr, and N as the main components.

A semiconductor resistance device includes a polysilicon resistance region; a first contact region in the resistance region, the first contact region having the same conductivity type as the resistance region and having a higher impurity concentration than the resistance region; a first wiring electrically connected to one end of the resistance region via a plurality of first vias; and a second wiring electrically connected to the other end of the resistance region via a plurality of second vias. At least one of the plurality of first vias and the plurality of second vias is in contact with the first contact region so as to form a low resistance contact structure, and at least another one of the plurality of first vias and the plurality of second vias forms a high resistance contact structure that has a contact resistance higher than a contact resistance of the low resistance contact structure.

A structure includes a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) resistor for use in gallium nitride (GaN) technology. The NTC resistor includes a p-type doped GaN (pGaN) layer, and a gallium nitride (GaN) heterojunction structure under the pGaN layer. The GaN heterojunction structure includes a barrier layer and a channel layer. An isolation region extends across an interface of the barrier layer and the channel layer, and a first metal electrode is on the pGaN layer spaced from a second metal electrode on the pGaN layer. The NTC resistor can be used as a temperature compensated reference in a structure providing a temperature detection circuit. The temperature detection circuit includes an enhancement mode HEMT sharing parts with the NTC resistor and includes temperature independent current sources including depletion mode HEMTs.

A negative temperature coefficient thermistor that includes: a ceramic base body composed of a ceramic composition containing Mn, Ni, and Fe; and an outer electrode on an end portion of the ceramic base body. The outer electrode includes an underlying layer covering the end portion of the ceramic base body and containing Cu and glass, and a plating layer covering the underlying layer. A Ni content, a Mn content, and a Fe content in the ceramic base body satisfy the following formulae (1) and (2): 26.4 mol %[Ni]29.5 mol % (1), and 1.65[Mn]/[Fe]1.90 (2). In the formulae, [Ni], [Mn], and [Fe] represent the Ni content, the Mn content, and the Fe content (mol %), respectively, when a total content of Mn, Ni, and Fe in the ceramic base body is taken as 100 mol %.