New Packages Offer Smaller Size, Greater Reliability For Rectifiers—With Some Tradeoffs
by Jos van Loo, Taiwan Semiconductor Europe, Zorneding, Germany and Kevin Parmenter, Tawian Semiconductor America, Chandler, Ariz., How2Power Today, Jun 17 2019
Focus:
Since the introduction of the SMA, SMB and SMC rectifiers in 1990 and 1991 (earlier
for transient voltage suppressors), customers have complained about their height. In
addition, the SMA/B/C packages were initially TVS packages and nobody ever claimed
that their thermal design was very good. The rectifier industry just started using
them because they were available at the time and customers wanted to replace MELFs.
But the SMA/B/C packages reflected the technology available 30 years ago and there is
room for improvement. A number of new packages have been introduced recently by Taiwan
Semiconductor and others to address the shortcomings of these older packages.
Sometimes downsizing to the newer packages will be easy and straightforward, but not
always. This article explains how the smaller packages will influence device
performance. The various package options are identified, and design considerations
that come into play when using the new packages—considerations such as thermal
resistance and device reliability—are discussed.
What you’ll learn:
- How to improve the die size-to-package ratio of rectifiers and TVS diodes
- How to understand what new, smaller package options are available for rectifiers and TVS diodes
- How to under the design considerations when migrating rectifiers and TVS diodes to the smaller, surface-mount packages
View this Source (requires a PDF Viewer installed on your device)
© 2025 How2Power. All rights reserved.