It’s worth noting that resistors are only able to handle a certain amount of electrical current before burning out (a 1/4 watt resistor, for example, can handle twice as much power - or about 41% more current - as a 1/8 watt resistor). I say ‘theoretically’ because there is always some variation between manufactuers and different component types. The numbers represent ‘1/100th of an inch’, meaning an 0603 package is theoretically 0,06″ x 0,04″ (1,524mm x 1,016mm). The most common of these standard packages sizes are 0402, 0603, 08. Resistors, along with many other discrete components, most commonly come in rectangular packages named after their physical dimensions. Most of these discrete components come in common shapes and sizes, and are relatively easy to identify. Discrete ComponentsĪ “discrete component” is a fancy label for the single circuit electronic components that make up most of your board, and they are generally divided into two categories: passive components (Resistors, Capacitors, Diodes, etc.) and active components (Transistors, LEDs, etc.). This guide will hopefully serve two purposes: To give you an overview of the most common IC and component packages and sizes, and to help you decide which package type you should be buying or using in different situations. To make things even worse, the names of discrete components are sometimes different depending on whether you are using metric or imperial measurements (cms versus inches), although imperial names (0603, 0805, etc.) are common even in European and other metric regions. ICs are often referred to by abbreviations such as LQFP, TQFP, TSOP, SSOP, etc., and discrete components (resistors, capacitors, etc.) are typically given names that correspond to their physical dimensions, such as 0402, 0603, 0805, and 1206. Integrated circuits (ICs) and electronic components come in a bewildering variety of shapes and sizes (often called ‘packages’), and it can be difficult for any beginner to keep track of what the main characteristics are of each package type.

Surface mount component size