Temperature coefficient is a coefficient that expresses the rate at which a characteristic changes with temperature change. The reason why properties change with temperature change is that when electricity is applied to a material, the resistor of the material increases linearly as the temperature of the material rises.
The slope of this linear function is called the temperature coefficient. The unit of temperature coefficient is expressed in ppm/°C.
As the temperature of a material increases, the vibrations of the atoms that make up the material increase, increasing the probability that free electrons (charges) traveling through the resistance will collide with the atoms. Therefore, as the temperature rises, resistance increases.
For power supply equipment, it is undesirable for the output to vary with changes in outside or inside temperature, so the temperature coefficient should be as small as possible. In the specifications of power supply devices, output fluctuation when the environmental temperature is varied within the operating temperature range is expressed as a temperature coefficient in ppm/°C.
Some other companies describe the temperature coefficient as a temperature characteristic, temperature drift, or ambient temperature effect. The temperature coefficient is one of the parameters that indicate the performance of resistors, power supplies, etc. In particular, the temperature coefficient of resistors is called the temperature coefficient of resistance.
