Power Electronic Tips

100 V Trench Schottky diodes boost efficiency in high-frequency power converters

Redding Traiger — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 17:33:25 +0000

STMicroelectronics has introduced 100V trench Schottky rectifier diodes that boost efficiency in power converters operated at high switching frequencies.

Raising power-converter operating frequency, encouraged by the minimal switching losses of technologies like wide-bandgap semiconductors, allows designers to set new benchmarks in power density. However, at elevated frequencies, the energy losses in conventional planar diodes, including silicon Schottky devices, used as rectifiers become a significant factor limiting conversion efficiency.

ST’s trench Schottky diodes significantly reduce the rectifier losses, with superior forward-voltage and reverse-recovery characteristics that enable increased power density with high efficiency. The forward voltage is 50-100mV better than in comparable planar diodes, depending on current and temperature conditions. Simply changing to these devices can increase the efficiency by 0.5%.

There are 28 variants in the new family, with eight current ratings from 1A to 15A, and multiple surface-mount packages, in industrial and automotive grades. The industrial-grade parts target applications such as miniature switched-mode power supplies and auxiliary power supplies for telecom, server, and smart-metering equipment. In automotive, typical uses include space-constrained applications such as LED lighting, reverse-polarity protection, and low-voltage DC/DC converters. The parts are AEC-Q101 qualified, manufactured in PPAP-capable facilities, and specified from -40°C to 175°C.

When combined with ST’s flyback and buck-boost converters, such as the VIPer controllers and HVLED001A offline LED driver, the 100V trench Schottky rectifiers fulfill the active components bill of materials for switched-mode power supplies. All are supported in ST’s eDesign Suite Rectifier Diodes Simulator, which helps to select the rating and footprint, simulate waveforms, and estimate power efficiency.

The diodes are 100% avalanche-tested in production to ensure device robustness and system reliability. They are available in DPAK as well as SOD123 Flat, SOD128 Flat, SMB Flat, and PSMC (TO227A) surface-mount packages.

All devices are in production now. Budgetary pricing starts at $0.107 for the 1A STPST1H100ZF in SMD123 Flat.

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2 A Shottky diodes shrink in size, save PCB space

Redding Traiger — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 18:44:26 +0000

Diodes Incorporated announces its SDT2U30CP3 (30V/2A), SDT2U40CP3 (40V/2A), and SDT2U60CP3 (60V/2A) achieve the industry’s highest current densities in their class with low forward voltage drop and thermal resistance addressing design challenges for smaller and more efficient portable, mobile, and wearable devices. This series of innovative high-current trench Schottky rectifiers is housed in a chip-scale package (CSP) that occupies only 0.84mm² board space. They can be employed for a variety of different purposes, serving as blocking or reverse-polarity protection diodes, boost diodes, and switching diodes.

The trio are the first ever 2A trench Schottky rectifiers to be designed into the X3-DSN1406-2 package, making these the industry’s smallest in their class. Compared with similar SMB-packaged devices, they take up a mere 3.4% of the PCB area. These ultra-thin CSPs, featuring a typical profile of 0.25mm, also shorten thermal paths. This results in enhanced power dissipation, ultimately reducing thermal bill-of-materials costs and significantly increasing overall system reliability.

Their ultra-low forward voltage performance, typically 480mV (580mV for the SDT2U60CP3), minimizes power losses, enabling the design of higher efficiency systems. They have superior avalanche capability compared to other products in the same range, ensuring robustness in extreme operating conditions, such as transient voltages, and providing an extra layer of reliability. Furthermore, these devices are totally lead-free and fully compliant with RoHS 3.0 standards, contributing to environmentally responsible designs.

The SDT2U30CP3, SDT2U40CP3, and SDT2U60CP3 rectifiers are available at unit prices of $0.16, $0.17, and $0.19 respectively in 2,500 piece quantities.

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Rectifiers offer robust ESD protection for automotive applications

Redding Traiger — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 20:17:05 +0000

Taiwan Semiconductor announces its new line of automotive-qualified rectifiers featuring ESD withstand capability. The new TSD Series rectifiers simultaneously provide repetitive peak reverse voltage (V_RRM) of up to 600V as well as ESD protection of >10,000V (per IEC-61000-4-2). Devices in the series have optional current ratings of 1A, 2A, and 3A, and operating temperature ranges from -40°C to ±175°C. All have a maximum forward voltage drop of 1.1V and feature low-reverse leakage current and fast response time.

Qualified to automotive standards, the TSD Series offers superior protection in a range of applications. These include input polarity protection where DC input voltage is applied; bridge and general purpose rectification circuits; LED strings and POE I/O protection, ESD protection, clamping, snubber networks and transient protection for datacom systems. They also provide reliable protection for smoke detectors, industrial controls, security systems, communication systems, lighting, and other systems that depend on continuous operation.

Click here for more information and links to complete product specifications. Design resources include comprehensive datasheets and spice models for each component in the series.

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