Metal-coated thermosalient crystals as electrical fuses.

Silver-coated 1,2,4,5-tetrabromobenzene crystals, a thermosalient compound, are presented as novel electrical fuse materials. These electrically conductive crystals exhibit linear characteristics up to a threshold value where the resistive heating triggers their phase transformation. This causes mechanical motion of the crystals with immediate circuit breakage. The concept described here opens new avenues for next-generation electrical fuses.