New Industry Products

High-Temperature Silicon-Controlled Rectifiers

October 06, 2015 by Jeff Shepard

New high-temperature SCRs from STMicroelectronics allow manufacturers of voltage regulators, inrush current limiters for switch-mode power supplies, motor-control circuits, and industrial solid-state relays to improve the reliability of their applications or reduce costs by using smaller heatsinks. Addressing a wide range of industrial and two/three-wheel vehicle applications, ST's high-temperature SCRs are particularly well-suited to motorcycle voltage regulators in markets where low cost and high reliability are key requirements.

The new devices can operate with junction temperatures of up to 150 degrees C and offer on-state RMS current ratings of 12-, 16-, and 20-A. They are designed to offer tight control of the gate triggering current, leading to enhanced reproducibility on the customers' assembly lines with corresponding improvements in the reliability of the end products.

Other key technical features include: High noise immunity (dV/dt up to 1000V/μs); 600V blocking voltage; High turn-on current rise (dI/dt = 100 A/μs); ECOPACK2 packaging for compliance with safety regulations and faster certification; Compliance with UL standard E81734; and availability in a variety of insulated and non-insulated packages, with insulated packages withstanding up to 2000 VRMS.

Several versions of the 12A, 16A, and 20A devices are available now in volume production in TO-220AB and TO-220FPAB packages (also in D²PAK for the 12A device), with prices ranging from US$0.37 to US$0.48 in quantities of 1000 units.