1999-06-01 , E/DS-1060/13
Product News From Philips Semiconductors

Philips Semiconductors, the largest European Semiconductor manufacturer, today introduced SiliconMAX™ - a brand new range of ultra-low on-resistance (R_DS(on)) power MOSFETs with voltage ratings as high as 200 V. Fabricated using an enhanced version of the company's TrenchMOS process, SiliconMAX™ MOSFETs bring the power dissipation and switching speed advantages of TrenchMOS technology to areas that were previously dominated by 100-volt to 200-volt DMOS power MOSFETs, including a wide range of switchmode power supply, DC/DC converter, and load switching applications.

"SiliconMAX™ is a major breakthrough in power MOSFET technology that enables us to offer designers unsurpassed combinations of low on-resistance, low gate-charge and high breakdown voltage", said Stephen Oliver, Philips Semiconductors' power semiconductors product marketing manager for the communications and EDP markets. "By reducing both the size and number of power components required in the end application, it will enable a significant increase in the achievable watts per cubic millimeter power density," he added.

Compared to the DMOS devices that they replace, SiliconMAX™ power MOSFETs provide designers with a far lower R_DS(on) rating for the same sized package, or allow them to use a much smaller device for the same R_DS(on) value. The 100-volt TO220-packaged SiliconMAX™ device, for example, achieves a world-beating 15 mW maximum R_DS(on) figure, while the 100-volt D-PAK version achieves an R_DS(on) value of just 25 mW - the same as a much larger typical TO220 packaged DMOS device.

Designers can take advantage of these features in a number of ways. For a given load current capability they can choose to downsize their power switching components, moving from bulky TO247 packaged transistors to TO220 SiliconMAX™ devices. In many cases they may even be able to replace them with D²-PAK surface-mounting SiliconMAX™ transistors without heatsinks. Similarly, existing D²-PAK transistors can be replaced with much smaller D-PAK SiliconMAX™ devices.

Alternatively, designers can exploit the lower R_DS(on) values of SiliconMAX™ MOSFETs to increase the load current handling of a single device. In many high power applications, for example, where the load current would otherwise have to be shared between two or more devices connected in parallel, multiple DMOS transistors can be replaced with a single SiliconMAX™ transistor - offering a significant reduction in component count and equipment size, and an increase in the application's overall power density (W/mm³).

The exceptionally low gate-charge (Q_GD) of SiliconMAX™ MOSFETs (as low as 44 nC for the 15 mW 100-volt D²-PAK device) also means that they switch much faster than conventional DMOS FETs, exhibiting less than half the switching losses. This makes them ideal for use at the higher switching frequencies favoured in modern switchmode power supply and DC/DC converter applications.

Available with voltage ratings of 25V, 55V, 100V, 150V and 200V (see table 1), SiliconMAX™ MOSFETs not only extend to higher voltages the range of applications that can benefit from TrenchMOS technology, they also offer improved performance in applications currently using first-generation TrenchMOS transistors.

VDS (V)	RDS(on) (mW)	Package
		Surface Mount		Leaded
		D-PAK (SOT428)	D2-PAK (SOT404)	TO220AB (SOT78)	TO247 (SOT429)
25	3.5				PSMN003-25W
25	4		PSMN004-25B	PSMN004-25P
25	5.8	PSMN005-25D
55	4.5				PSMN004-55W
55	5.8		PSMN005-55B	PSMN005-55P
55	10.5	PSMN010-55D
100	9				PSMN009-100W
100	15		PSMN015-100B	PSMN015-100P
100	25	PSMN025-100D
150	20				PSMN020-150W
150	35		PSMN035-150B	PSMN035-150P
150	63	PSMN063-150D
200	40				PSMN040-200W
200	70		PSMN070-200B	PSMN070-200P
200	130	PSMN130-200D

Table 1 - the initial SiliconMAX™ range of power MOSFETs

SiliconMAX™ - fulfilling Philips Semiconductors' EcoVision Programme

By significantly reducing power dissipation in equipment power supplies, SiliconMAX™ MOSFETs are an important part of Philips Semiconductors' EcoVision initiative - an ongoing programme to produce products that conserve valuable world resources.

However, in addition to the energy savings that result from their low R_DS(on) values, SiliconMAX™ MOSFETs also contribute to resource conservation in other ways. By giving designers the option of using smaller package sizes, or of replacing two conventional devices by a single SiliconMAX™ device, they provide significant savings in manufacturing materials, in energy expenditure for transportation and handling, and in the quantity of industrial waste generated by shipping cartons. By allowing through-hole mounting power transistors to be replaced with surface-mount devices they reduce the amount of tin-lead solder and acid flux required for pc board assembly. And their ability to reduce or eliminate heatsinking requirements also leads to savings in the materials and energy consumption associated with heatsink production.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the eighth largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by systems labs. Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing its home page at http://www.semiconductors.philips.com

SiliconMAX is a registered trademark of Royal Philips Electronics

For more information, please check BG9903: Backgrounder on Philips Semiconductors' new SiliconMAX™ power MOSFETs.