New Silicon Germanium Rectifier Diodes for High Efficiency and Thermal Stability in Automotive Applications

Published  June 1, 2020   0
Nexperia's Silicon Germanium Rectifier Diodes

Nexperia has introduced the new range of silicon-germanium (SiGe) rectifiers with 120 V, 150 V, and 200 V reverse voltages that deliver high efficiency of their Schottky counterparts along with thermal stability of fast recovery diodes. The new devices are designed to be operated in the automotive, communication infrastructure, and server markets.

By using the new extremely low leakage, 1-3A SiGe rectifier, the design engineers can rely on an extended safe-operating area with no thermal runaway up to 175 degrees in high-temperature applications like LED lighting, engine control units or fuel injection. They can also optimize their design for higher efficiency, which is not feasible using fast recovery diodes commonly used in such high-temperature designs. The SiGe rectifiers can establish 10-20% lower conduction losses when a low forward voltage (Vf) and low Qrr is boosted.

The PMEG SiGe devices are housed in size-and thermally- efficient CFP3 and CFP5 packages with a solid copper clip for reducing the thermal resistance and to optimize the transfer of heat into the ambient environment which allows small and compact PCB designs. The simple pin-to-pin replacements of Schottky and fast recovery diodes are possible when switching to SiGe technology.