eeProductCenter Ultimate Products 5.1

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Product Shopper New Product Info

(1)
INFINEON
Infineon launches 900-V Superjunction MOSFET line
eeProductCenter's Ismini Scouras says: "Texas-Infineon Technologies AG is touting its latest product line as the industry's first 900 V superjunction MOSFETs specifically intended for high-efficiency SMPS (switched-mode power supply), industrial and renewable energy applications. The energy-saving CoolMOS 900 V power MOSFET family overcomes the silicon-limit in power transistor manufacturing, and provides an alternative for high-voltage designs using standard TO (Transistor Outline) packages. The CoolMOS family of power transistors provides twice the voltage blocking capability of conventional devices, leading to a five-fold increase in RDS(on), according to Infineon. "

Readers say:
"Green products require highly efficient power supplies. The very low RDS(on) of CoolMOS transistors are impressive but the price seems too high."
"There have been other HV MOS power technologies. Not clear why this one is especially noteworthy."
"Powerful"
"An excellent combination of low stored charge, low Rs and high voltage. I intend to use the 650V version."

USABILITY RANK: 1

(2)
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Ultra-low-power LDOs cut standby power consumption in half
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) has introduced 150-mA, low-dropout linear regulators (LDOs) with dual-level voltage output for MSP430 microcontroller-based, battery-powered devices. Claiming the lowest quiescent current in the industry at 500-nanoAmps, the LDO's voltage select (VSET) pin gives designers the ability to switch between two voltage levels to customize and cut power consumption in half during operation."

Readers say:
"ON current is lower than most LDOs OFF current!"
"Best low IQ LDO available in market place."

USABILITY RANK: 2

(3)
EXAR
LED driver touts inductive boost capabilities
eeProductCenter's Ismini Scouras says: "Exar Corp. has started to sample an LED driver with inductive boost capabilities, giving system architects additional design options for backlighting applications. Housed in a 2.9-mm x 2.8-mm SOT23-6 package, the SP6699 is suitable for small display/keypad LED lighting applications found in handheld portable devices such as PDAs, cell phones and data collection devices The SP6699 integrates a schottky diode (a switch boost regulator), and is capable of driving up to five series LEDs with four external components."

USABILITY RANK: 3

(4)
VISHAY
30V power MOSFET achieves ultra-low on-resistance
eeProductCenter's Ismini Scouras says: "Vishay Intertechnology Inc. has rolled out the first device in a new third-generation TrenchFET power MOSFET family. The TrenchFET Gen III Si7192DP, an n-channel device in the PowerPAK SO-8 package, features maximum on-resistance of 2.25 milliohms at a 4.5-V gate drive voltage."

Readers say:
"If VDS=30V, normally the user won't care too much about the power efficiency except some PA designers may."

USABILITY RANK: 4

(5)
NEC ELECTRONICS AMERICA
Power MOSFET features low on-resistance of 1.5-milliohms
eeProductCenter's Ismini Scouras says: "NEC Electronics America Inc.'s latest addition to its NP Series is the NP180N04TUG low-voltage power MOSFET, which features an advanced architecture and package designed to manage heat dissipation and reduce power loss with a low RDS(on) level of 1.5 milliohms (maximum). Operating at 40V voltage drain source (Vds) and 180 amperes (A), the NP180N04TUG is well-suited for applications such as automotive systems, low-voltage DC motor controllers and uninterruptible power supplies that require high current capability, stringent power management and high reliability. "

USABILITY RANK: 6

(6)
ON SEMICONDUCTOR
High current switchers increase power density in embedded systems
eeProductCenter's Ismini Scouras says: "ON Semiconductor has introduced the NCP3101 and NCP3102 switching regulators that are designed to simplify embedded designs in high -density applications. According to On Semiconductor, the NCP3102 and NCP3101 enable customers to replace dc-dc modules with embedded designs to reduce system cost while increasing power density."

USABILITY RANK: 5

(7)
TOSHIBA AMERICA ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS
Step-down converters improve power efficiency
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. has introduced two new single-chip dc/dc converter ICs intended for use as step-down converters in digital consumer products, PCs and computer peripherals. These monolithic devices use a new CMOS process to achieve high efficiency and high-output current up to 3.8 A, in compact packages with low thermal resistance."

USABILITY RANK: 8

(8)
FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR
Li-ion battery charger ICs optimize battery life, performance
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "Freescale Semiconductor has introduced a family of Li-ion battery charger ICs that address the need for highly accurate charging current and output voltages for portable consumer electronics to optimize battery life and performance."

USABILITY RANK: 9

(9)
MAXIM
Highly integrated step-down regulator fits into tiny package">
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "Maxim Integrated Products claims to introduce the first switching, step-down regulator to integrate the MOSFETs and to package the regulator in the industry's smallest 8 x 8 x 0.8-mm TQFN. By integrating discrete MOSFETs, the MAX8655 regulator not only reduces space, but also significantly lowers the generated EMI and virtually ensures first-pass design, according to Maxim."

USABILITY RANK: 7

(10)
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY
N-channel MOSFET driver sinks up to 5 amps
eeProductCenter's Gina Roos says: "Linear Technology Corp. has introduced the LTC4443/-1, a high-speed synchronous MOSFET driver designed to drive upper and lower power N-channel MOSFETs in synchronous rectified converter topologies. This driver, combined with power MOSFETs and one of Linear Technology's DC/DC controllers, forms a complete high-efficiency synchronous regulator that can be used as a step-down or step-up DC/DC converter."

USABILITY RANK: 10

In case you were wondering, here's how Ultimate Products works: Our editors select up to 10 of the most significant products posted at www.eeProductCenter.com during the calendar quarter. Then, using an electronic balloting process, we submit the products with the accompanying editorial reviews to selected, qualified readers. Those readers score the products by technical significance and
USABILITY on a scale of 1 through 5, with 5 being the highest score. The product ranked No. 1 in each category was judged as most technically significant for that category. Relative
USABILITY rankings and selected reader comments are also reported. More than 1,000 of you helped to choose these products. As always, we are grateful for your enthusiastic participation.

Patrick Mannion
Editor-in-Chief, Techonline Network and eeProductcenter.com
pmannion@cmp.com