Siliconix Unveils PowerPAK Power MOSFET Roadmap
Siliconix Inc. (Munich, Germany) unveiled a roadmap for a new power MOSFET packaging technology, which they believe will provide space savings and improve thermal performance for power conversion and power management circuitry in computers, communications networks, and handheld information appliances. Dubbed PowerPAK, Siliconix introduced the new packaging technology at electronica 2000.
They claim it will enable devices with thermal resistance of less than one degree C per watt or approximately the same as a twice-as-large, twice-as-thick DPAK power MOSFET. PowerPAK devices are designed to achieve this thermal performance by providing a direct thermal path from the backside of the copper-die attach-pad to the printed circuit board. Siliconix maintains that PowerPAK's design provides a consistent footprint regardless of the particular silicon used in a given device.
In addition to their enhanced thermal performance, on-resistance for the new PowerPAK devices is claimed to be low for their package size. The new SO-8 PowerPAK offers the same cavity size, and can thus use the same die, as devices packaged in the DPAK package. PowerPAK is designed to handle higher current densities without increasing the board space occupied by power semiconductors and without generating additional heat. Siliconix is offering the new technology in the SO-8 size and also in a 1212-outline, 8-pin package that will offer on-resistance performance comparable to many devices in the TSSOP-8 but with a smaller footprint, thinner height profile, and lower thermal resistance.
Beginning in December 2000, Siliconix will begin releasing PowerPAK devices in families optimized for load switching, core voltage dc/dc conversion, and fixed telecom dc/dc conversion, lithium ion battery management, with breakdown voltage ratings ranging from 20V to 150V. In addition to single- and dual-channel power MOSFETs, Siliconix will be offering PowerPAK combination MOSFET and Schottky diode devices, aimed at battery-switching applications. Sampling is currently taking place, and full-scale production will begin in the first quarter of 2001.
