Infineon Expands Industry-Leading Portfolio of Power MOSFETs and Smart Power Switches for Automotive Applications Based on Next-Generation Technology

Oct 18, 2004 | Market News

Detroit, Mich./USA – October 18, 2004 – At the Convergence 2004 automotive electronics conference here today, Infineon Technologies AG (FSE/NYSE: IFX) announced OptiMOS-T, a new family of “Green” power MOSFETs incorporating trench power technology, and PROFET, the world’s first family of smart high-side switch ICs that use trench power technology. The new product families extend the Infineon portfolio of power ICs designed specifically to meet the rigorous and demanding environment and operating requirements of vehicle electronics, a market where the company is recognized as a world leader.

Infineon OptiMOS-T

To provide a new design option to automotive system engineers working to replace mechanical and hydraulic systems with electrical systems, Infineon has added a new trench power 55V technology named OptiMOS-T to its MOSFET portfolio. The new OptiMOS-T trench power technology shows the same avalanche ruggedness as Infineon's planar OptiMOS technology (per square millimeter). The OptiMOS-T technology was especially developed to minimize the on-resistance (Rdson) and reduce conduction losses in automotive applications. Depending on the design, reduced conduction losses can result in improved efficiency of the application, such as a cooling fan, leading to lower emissions and fuel consumption. For example, a reduction in energy usage of 100 watts in a car can save up to 0.15 litres of fuel per 100 km and a reduction in associated emissions.

The first product in the OptiMOS-T family, the IPB100N06S3L-03, is a 2.7 mohm 55V N-Channel MOSFET in a D 2PAK package. A complete product family with R dson ranging from 2.7 mohm to about 25 mohm will be released within the next months.

“The robust and green package technology of the OptiMOS-T family underlines Infineon’s leading position in automotive power applications. The products exceed customer expectations in terms of quality and reliability, and reinforce the company’s commitment to bring green technology to all its products,” said Christopher Cook, Vice President, Automotive & Industrial, at Infineon Technologies North America Corp.

All products of the OptiMOS-T family are already lead-free (Pb-free plating, green mold compound), allowing automotive system providers to have lead-free products available according to current regulations. OptiMOS-T products meet the requirements of the RoHS (Restricting the use of Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment) regulations. They are capable of sustaining up to 260°C reflow peak temperature. An additional benefit of the OptiMOS-T products’ green and robust package is the increased thermal cycling capability. Reliability testing using extended temperature qualification (beyond 1,000 temperature cycles, as per Automotive Electronics Council AEC Q 101) showed no degradation of the die-attach quality and no increase of the thermal resistance.

Best-in-class OptiMOS-T 55V products include a device with 2.7 mohm in a D 2PAK package and a MOSFET with 5.2 mohm in a DPAK.

Packaging, Price and Availability of OptiMOS-T 55V product

Engineering samples of the 55V OptiMOS-T products in D 2PAK packages are available now, and production quantities will be available from mid-2005 onward. Further voltage classes of the OptiMOS-T family are under development to address high-power applications, such as electrical power steering. In 10,000 piece quantities, the 5 mohm 55V N-Channel OptiMOS-T in a D 2PAK is priced at US-Dollar 0.90 per piece.

Further information on Infineon OptiMOS products is available at www.infineon.com/optimos.

Infineon SMART5 PROFET Switch Ics

Infineon also has added a new family of multi-channel high-side switches to its PROFET™ (PROtected MOSFET) IC (integrated circuit) product portfolio, which is the world's first integrated smart switch family to use trench technology. The new SMART5 PROFET switch ICs, representing the fifth generation of Infineon’s SMART products for automotive comfort and body applications, provide a cost-effective and robust alternative to standard relay, fuse and discrete component solutions for suppliers of automotive electronic modules.

Infineon’s PROFET intelligent power devices contain both a power transistor for switching and complete built-in protection logic circuitry, allowing them to protect themselves and their loads.

“SMART5 silicon devices offer added performance benefits over electro-mechanical solutions, as well as greater flexibility and lower cost,” said Mr. Cook. “Unlike relays, they can be driven by a microcontroller, and are protecting and diagnosing during such fault conditions as short circuits, overloads, over temperature and open load. They give our customers the features and capabilities they’ll need to meet the requirements of the emerging electronics-dominated vehicle control and comfort environments.”

Typical SMART5 Application

A typical application for the new SMART5 intelligent switches is in modules for automotive lighting systems, where relays and electromechanical switches are still widely used. Compared to relays, the new SMART5 chips can drive lamps with greater control, better protection, lower power dissipation and less PCB (printed circuit board) area, all at a lower cost. For example, a SMART5 device might be used to drive two standard 27W headlight bulbs for a low-beam headlamp application, enabling either daytime running lamps or extending bulb lifetime at higher battery levels. A relay cannot offer this level of control, and also requires external components to protect the load and the relay from fault conditions. The SMART5 also allows “soft start” of a bulb (fade in), significantly reducing the stress on the bulbs experienced during an in-rush event. In addition to soft start, PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) enables soft shutdown, to create theater dimming in body and comfort applications.

In addition, the SMART5 chip can detect and indicate a bulb outage, either in the on-state through its current sense function or in the off-state as a fault signal. When an outage is detected, a microcontroller can provide an indication to the driver, and/or substitute another bulb for the function of the lost lamp, for example, using a turn signal lamp to replace a burned-out brake light.

Packaging, Price and Availability

The first 10 products in the SMART5 PROFET switch family are available now. Depending upon channel configuration, they are available in four packages: SO-14; SMD-12 power package; SO-20; and SO-28. Pricing (in 10,000 piece quantities) ranges from US-Dollar 0.90 for the 2x140 mohm, SO-14 package BTS 5230GS to US-Dollar 3.89 for the 4x25 mohm, SO-28 package BTS 5441G. Several of the products feature externally adjustable current limits, while others have self-adjusting current limits and status enable/disable.

Further information on Infineon’s portfolio of automotive switch products is available at www.infineon.com/smart5

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2003 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 6.15 billion with about 32,300 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.

Information Number

INFAI200410.009