MOSFETs suit high-temperature automotive applications.

Press Release Summary:

Utilizing high-density silicon technology, n-channel MOSFETs combine 3.4 V threshold voltage with on-resistance as low as 2.7 milliohms to avoid spontaneous turn-on during high-temperature, high-current applications with inductive loads. Products, offered in 10 models rated 40 or 60 V, are manufactured in DPAK, D2PAK, and PowerPAK SO-8 packages. MOSFETs are also suited for use in industrial and fixed telecom industries.

Original Press Release:

New Vishay Siliconix 40-V and 60-V MOSFETs Feature Industrys First Combination of High 3.4-V Threshold Voltage and Low 2.7-Milliohms On-Resistance for High-Temperature Automotive Applications

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - April 20, 2005 - Siliconix incorporated (NASDAQ: SILI), an 80.4%-owned subsidiary of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE: VSH), today announced the industrys first n-channel MOSFETs that combine a high 3.4-V threshold voltage with on-resistance as low as 2.7 milliohms. The 10 new MOSFETs, available in 40-V and 60-V versions, are intended for use in high-temperature, high-current applications with inductive loads in the automotive, industrial, and fixed telecom industries, such as high-side switches, motor drives, and 12-V boardnets. When MOSFETs operate in high-temperature, high-current environments, they can turn on spontaneously if their threshold voltage, impacted by heat, starts to approach 0 V. Until now, this posed a dilemma for designers. One solution was the addition of a negative voltage driver to the circuit, but the drawbacks were increased circuit size, cost, and complexity. Another solution would be to use a device with a high threshold voltage, but the effect in this case is an undesirable increase in on-resistance. This new power MOSFET family provides a way out of this dilemma with high-density silicon technology that allows the same device to deliver both low on-resistance and a high threshold voltage that avoids the problem of spontaneous turn-on in automotive, industrial, and other applications involving high temperatures and high levels of current. Summary of Device Specifications Available in the DPAK, D2PAK, and PowerPAK SO-8 packages, samples and production quantities of the new MOSFETs are available now with lead times of 10 to 12 weeks for larger orders. Siliconix is a leading manufacturer of power MOSFETs, power ICs, analog switches, and multiplexers for computers, cell phones, fixed communications networks, automobiles, and other consumer and industrial electronic systems. With 2004 worldwide sales of $466.1 million, the Company's facilities include a company-owned Class 1 wafer fab dedicated to the manufacture of power products in Santa Clara, California, and a Class 1 wafer fab located in Itzehoe, Germany utilized under a lease arrangement. The Company's products are also fabricated by subcontractors in Japan, Germany, China, Taiwan, and the United States. Assembly and test facilities include a company-owned facility in Taiwan, a joint venture in Shanghai, China, and subcontractors in the Philippines, China, Taiwan and Israel. Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., a Fortune 1,000 Company listed on the NYSE (VSH), is one of the world's largest manufacturers of discrete semiconductors (diodes, rectifiers, transistors, and optoelectronics) and selected ICs, and passive electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transducers). Vishay's components can be found in products manufactured in a very broad range of industries worldwide. Vishay is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and has operations in 17 countries employing over 25,000 people. Vishay can be found on the Internet at www.vishay.com.