International Rectifier, IR® (NYSE: IRF) announced the introduction of the AUIRFN8459 and AUIRFN8458 40V automotive-qualified COOLiRFET™ power MOSFETs that offer benchmark on-state resistance (RDS(on)) for automotive applications requiring compact size and high current performance including pump motor control and automotive body control. The AUIRFN8459 and AUIRFN8458 are the first in a family of automotive-qualified 5x6mm […]
MOSFETS
Biasing bipolar transistor circuits
Bipolar transistors used in linear applications need “biasing”, as do other transistors (JFET, MOSFET) when used for linear applications rather than as switches. When used as a “switch” you simply want the transistor to be ON or OFF and don’t really care about having in-between states, although when you are switching high power or switching […]
85-V MOSFETs have adaptive dead-time, shoot-through protection
Micrel Inc., (Nasdaq:MCRL) introduced the MIC4606, an 85V Full-Bridge MOSFET driver that features Adaptive Dead Time and Shoot-Through Protection. The device is part of Micrel’s highly successful 85V MOSFET Driver family first launched in 2013 and is designed to focus on the growing power needs of multiple applications. The 85V MIC4606 family is part of […]
Gallery: Scenes from the IEEE ECCE conference
The IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition took place last week in Pittsburgh. The clear trends based on exhibits on the show floor included a lot of interest in SiC power devices and in alternative topologies for inverters. Here are a few of the more interesting sites we encountered there. SiC on display The Center […]
SiC MOSFETs will power solar inverters
Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) has announced that its C2M™, 1200V, 80mOhm SiC MOSFETs have been selected by Sanix Corporation, Japan, to be designed into their new 9.9kW three-phase solar inverters for use in the construction of commercial photovoltaic systems in the fast-growing Japanese solar energy market. “Through this partnership with Cree and their SiC technology, […]
MOSFET Drivers – what are they and why do we need them?
There are a lot of MOSFET drivers around these days. MOSFET drivers often contain MOSFETs themselves. There are several reasons for needing MOSFET drivers: Drive current – MOSFETs can have very high gate capacitance. For example, the IRF530NS from International Rectifier is a 90mW device which can withstand 17A continuous drain current at 100V and […]
Coming in September: Sixth Annual IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exhibition to kick off in Pittsburgh
The Sixth Annual IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exhibition (ECCE 2014), “Your Bridge to a Clean and Sustainable Energy Future,” will come to Pittsburgh, Pa. Sept. 14 through 18. The event will include an expo area of about 40 exhibitors. On Tuesday Sept. 16, admission to the exhibits will be free to the public as […]
TI introduces 40-V to 100-V NexFET™ MOSFETs
Expanding its popular NexFET portfolio, Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) introduced 14 power MOSFETs in TO-220 and SON packages that support input voltages from 40 V to 100 V. The high-efficiency NexFETs include 40-V, 60-V, 80-V and 100-V N-channel devices that provide excellent thermal performance to a wide range of high-current motor control and power […]
Working With Optically Isolated Relays
By Aiman Kiwan, Panasonic Electric Works of America Corp. Solid-state optically isolated relays can improve the performance of data acquisition systems and industrial machines. Not too long ago, relays were exclusively electromechanical devices. However, today engineers can also opt for solid-state relays that use semiconductors to switch their output circuits. The choice between traditional electromechanical […]
Microsemi Announces New IdealPoE Diode Bridge
Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, announced its new PD70224 IdealPoE™ diode bridge, a dual pack of MOSFET-based full-bridge rectifiers. The device’s low-RDS 0.16Ohm N-channel MOSFETS allow for much higher overall efficiency and higher output power, particularly when used in powered devices for Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) […]