Semiconductors Showcased at PCIM Span Multiple Applications

May 30, 2007 5:24 PM

At the PCIM Europe exhibition held recently in Nuremberg, Germany, several semiconductor vendors unveiled new power components that address requirements for greater functional integration and higher performance in various consumer and industrial applications. These components, which encompass both monolithic power ICs and modules, address the latest requirements for small size and high efficiency in motor drives, power over Ethernet equipment, ac-dc power supplies, LED lighting, and various other applications.

Infineon Technologies introduced a family of highly integrated intelligent power modules that contain nearly all of the semiconductor components required to drive electronically controlled variable-speed electric motors. The use of variable-speed motors to reduce the energy consumed by home appliances is growing in response to regulatory requirements and consumer demand. Infineon’s Control Integrated Power System (CiPoS) modules enable operation of these appliances at efficiencies up to 94%.

The CiPoS modules incorporate a three-phase inverter power stage with a silicon-on-insulator gate driver, bootstrap diodes and capacitors, and auxiliary circuitry in a compact, fully isolated package. These modules also offer low junction-to-case thermal resistance. For example, the junction-to-case thermal resistance of the IGBTs of the IKCS12F60AA CiPoS module is 3.6°C/W, and of the Em-Con diodes is 4.9°C/W. At a nominal operating voltage of 15 V, this low resistance results in an output current of 6 A.

Infineon also debutted its PrimePACK IGBT modules in the 1200-V and 1700-V voltage classes. These modules also have improved thermal characteristics. Specifically, they incorporate a special layout of the IGBT chips, significantly improving heat distribution.

Power Integrations introduced its TinySwitch-PK, a monolithic power supply controller with a peak power mode that delivers increased power for short periods. Housed in an 8-pin DIP, this chip addresses the many consumer products with motors, buzzers or lights that require extra power in brief bursts. When TinySwitch-PK enters its peak mode, the controller doubles its operating frequency and current limit. In so doing, the controller boosts the power supply’s output to 280% of its continuous rating without requiring any increase in the rating of the transformer or the on-chip MOSFET switch.

Meanwhile, National Semiconductor demonstrated the LM5073, a powered device (PD) controller for Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) applications that require up to 30 W per port. The LM5073 features an adjustable output current level and the ability to interface with any dc-dc converter topology.

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© 2007 Penton Media, Inc.