New Industry Products

NEC Electronics Extends Its Portfolio of Power MOSFETs

July 10, 2006 by Jeff Shepard

NEC Electronics Corp., and its subsidiaries in the United States and Europe – NEC Electronics America, Inc. and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH – announced that they have extended their portfolio of low-voltage power management devices (PMDs) to include two new power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). The new uPA2350 and uPA2351 power MOSFETs reduce the design footprint of traditional dual N-channel MOSFETs for battery-protection applications by as much as 86% compared to current industry solutions such as the 8-pin thin shrink small-outline package (TSSOP) traditionally used, and are well-suited for use in lithium-ion battery packs for portable battery-powered applications such as MP3 players, cell phones and other mobile wireless devices.

"As the world's leading supplier of power MOSFETs for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, NEC Electronics is continually looking for ways to reduce the size of this type of battery to make portable devices smaller and more attractive to consumers," said Minoru Matsuda, general manager, Power Management Devices Division, NEC Electronics Corp. "An innovative use of chip-scale packaging technology allowed NEC Electronics to develop MOSFETs that have the industry's lowest on-state resistance and smallest package to address the stringent battery power and performance requirements of evolving portable consumer electronics products."

The devices combine NEC Electronics' fourth-generation UMOS process technology with a chip-on-board packaging technique that results in low on-state resistances of 28 milliohms (uPA2350) and 32 milliohms (uPA2351) to extend battery life. The devices are housed in the industry's smallest and thinnest package in their class, 1.62 millimeters (mm) square by 0.48 mm thick, which can reduce the size of battery packs in ever-shrinking consumer products such as cell phones, digital cameras and other mobile devices. In compliance with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, both devices, including the bump contacts used to connect the chips to the boards, are completely lead-free. Integrated gate-protection diodes result in lower overall system costs and smaller form factors.

Both power MOSFETs are sampling now and are scheduled to reach volume production in August 2006. Pricing for both parts is US$0.35 in 10,000-unit quantities.