New Vishay Siliconix Power MOSFETs Set New Industry Standards for Thermal Performance and On-Resistance in Automotive and Portable Computing Products

    SANTA CLARA, Calif.--May 29, 2001--Siliconix Inc. , an 80.4 percent-owned subsidiary of Vishay Intertechnology Inc. , Tuesday announced the release of several new power MOSFETs that give designers more control over the thermal environment in automotive and portable computing applications.
    A new temperature-sensing TrenchFET for automotive applications protects power circuitry from current overloads and excessive temperatures while providing the industry's lowest on-resistance for this device type -- just 7.5 milliohms at a 10-V gate drive.
    The new SUB50N04-07T works by using the falling forward voltage of the on-board diodes to detect increases in device temperature. This voltage is then fed into the circuitry, allowing the MOSFET to shut off power to the application if excessive temperature is detected.
    Because the diodes are integrated onto the same chip as the MOSFET, temperature sensing is more accurate than in devices where the MOSFET and diode components are merely co-packaged.
    Like other Siliconix temperature-sensing TrenchFET devices, the 40-V SUB50N04-07T simplifies designs by reducing component count while using standard power MOSFET technology and terminals. This provides designers with a much simpler upgrade path than with devices using an IC process.
    For portable computing applications, a new Vishay Siliconix series of thermally enhanced LITTLE FOOT(R) SC-70 power MOSFETs provides significant improvements in thermal resistance in both single- and dual-channel formats, offering the industry's lowest thermal resistance values for this package type.
    With a 67 percent improvement over the previous state-of-the-art single-channel device and a 73 percent improvement over the dual-channel device, the new LITTLE FOOT SC-70 MOSFETs enable increased power dissipation or allow the devices to run cooler.
    Lower thermal resistance also contributes to the reduced conduction losses and extended lithium ion battery power provided by these devices, in which on-resistance is at least 25 percent lower than in standard SC-70 equivalents.
    The new series of thermally enhanced MOSFETs includes eight devices in single, dual, and complimentary n-channel and p-channel versions with breakdown voltages of 12 V, 20 V, and 25 V.
    All eight devices are rated for operation at 1.8 V for low supply voltages, as well as at 4.5 V and 2.5 V, and include a 2000-V ESD protection rating designed to prevent malfunction when the devices are used in portable systems with attachable/detachable accessories such as SIM cards, Bluetooth adaptors, IrDA adaptors, MP3 adaptors, and cable connections to other portable devices.

    Siliconix, a company of Vishay Intertechnology Inc., is a leading manufacturer of power MOSFETs, power ICs and analog switches for computers, cell phones, fixed communications networks, automobiles and other electronic systems.
    With 2000 worldwide sales of $473 million, the company's facilities include Class 1, 6-inch wafer fabs dedicated to the manufacture of power products in Santa Clara and Itzehoe, Germany. Power products are also manufactured by a subcontractor in Japan. Analog switches, analog multiplexers and low-power transistors are fabricated by subcontractors in Dresden, Germany and in Beijing.
    Assembly and test facilities include a company-owned facility in Taiwan, a joint venture in Shanghai, China and subcontractors in the Philippines, China and the United States.

    Vishay, a Fortune 1,000 company with year 2000 sales of $2.5 billion, is the largest U.S. and European manufacturer of passive electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors) and a major producer of discrete semiconductors (diodes, optoelectronics, transistors), IrDCs (infrared communication devices), and power and analog switching integrated circuits.
    The company's components can be found in products manufactured in a very broad range of industries worldwide.
    With headquarters in Malvern, Pa., Vishay employs over 20,000 people in 66 plants in the U.S., Mexico, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Taiwan, China and the Philippines. Vishay can be found on the Internet at http://www.vishay.com.

    TrenchFET and LITTLE FOOT are registered trademarks of Siliconix Inc.