Power Management ICs

Thanks to the development of a unique high voltage (600 & 1200V), junction isolated BCDMOS fabrication process, IR produces one of the most capable lines of control, level shift, and gate drive ICs available on the market. These chips are used in designs requiring a high-current gate drive that needs to be level shifted from ground by more than a few volts. More sophisticated ICs are now in development that include PWM control and high speed digital control and interface circuits. IR also has an NMOS/CMPS power IC process for SmartFETs and Intelligent Power Switches. These components combine the functionality of a power MOSFET with analog and digital circuitry on a single chip. These two technologies have enabled key circuits in advanced high density power converters, motor controllers, and automotive electronics, now on the market. IR recently added Low Drop-Out voltage regulators and switching controllers to its product line to meet the rapidly evolving needs of DC-DC power management in the information technology equipment market.

IR HEXFET® Power MOSFET Technology

International Rectifier pioneered HEXFET power MOSFET technology, developing and introducing the first hexagonal topology MOSFETs in 1979. These developments were granted a broad patent just four years later, and since that time, most MOSFET manufacturers have licensed the designs and processes to enter this marketplace. In December 1995, IR launched a new generation of MOSFET technology, based on an advanced four-mask process that utilizes innovative self-alignment features to improve manufacturing precision and increase yields. Using the simplified process, the company has manufactured MOSFETs with a low cycle time, compared with requirements for the six-step process in use by the rest of the power semiconductor industry.

This process also allows junction depths up to 40 percent smaller than conventional processes, thereby greatly reducing the transistor junction resistance while increasing ruggedness. Leveraging its manufacturing expertise, IR developed and introduced in 1999 a stripe planar technology with a fully self-aligned manufacturing process that features highest density planar structure to provide extremely low on-resistance, excellent high-frequency operation, industry-best ruggedness and excellent manufacturing cast and cycle time.

In that same year, IR introduced a family of the industry's highest cell density and lowest RDS(on) trench MOSFETs. This technology was focused on the latest products for handsets, laptop computers and a variety of other portable electronic devices.

IR products exhibit the lowest MOSFET on-resistance available on the market for similar components in their class, enabling power conversion subsystem designs that exhibit unequaled efficiency. IR combines state-of-the-art silicon technology with innovative packaging technology. IR POWIRTAB™, Super-220™ and Super-247™ packages allow up to 20A more current per device in the same footprint than standard packages, increasing power density. Compatible with standard surface-mount soldering techniques, IR's FlipFET™ packaging technology offers a 100% silicon to footprint ratio with the same performance as a conventional package 3 times as big making it the ideal solution for portable devices such as portable phones or notebook PCs. IR's DirectFET™ packaging revolutionizes thermal management in the footprint of a standard SO-8 by drawing heat away from the board through the top of the package. As a result, DirectFET MOSFETs can double current density while cutting thermal management cost in half in high current circuits that power next generation microprocessors.

IGBTs
IR manufactures a wide range of IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors)- voltage controlled power transistors used to provide the basic output function in power conversion systems. They have become the preferred output solution in almost all high voltage, high current, moderate frequency applications. IR IGBTs offer higher current densities than equivalent high-voltage power MOSFETs, and are faster with superior drive and output characteristics than comparable power bipolar transistors. In 1999, IR introduced NPT technology for IGBT reducing power losses by 20% and significantly improving cost and manufacturability. In 2001, the family is expanding to include 600V devices.

Micro-Electronic Relays(MERs)
IR's line of MERs include two capabilities: MOSFET- and IGBT-based photovoltaic relays and photovoltaic isolator products. The former are ideal solid-state relays for switching AC and DC loads and sensory signals from a few miliamps to several hundred watts in industrial controls, instrumentation, peripheral telecom devices, computer peripherals and office equipment. The latter offer single- and dual-channel, optically isolated outputs that can be used for directly driving the gates of discrete power MOSFETs and/or IGBTs, giving designers the flexibility of creating their own, custom-made solid-state relays capable of controlling loads well over 1,000 volts and 100 amps.

Input Rectifiers
International Rectifier offers the widest selection of medium-and high power rectifiers available in the industry. These components can be specified in a variety of industry standard packages with a choice of speeds and current ratings from just a few to 8,000 amps. The IR rectifier product line also includes snubber diodes with forward and reverse recovery characteristics optimized for GT choppers and inverters.

Schottky Diodes
IR offers one of the broadest lines of Schottky rectifiers available in the industry. These popular devices are fabricated using several processes, each producing a different mix of electrical characteristics including forward voltage drop, reverse leakage current, reverse blocking voltage, maximum junction temperature and avalanche energy handling. The size of the Schottky die in combination with the packaging design determines the current rating for each device. IR's Schottky packaging ranges from surface mount and axial lead types with ratings of a few amps, to large dual die modules rated in excess of 400 Amps. New Schottky designs that raise current density and improve the leakage/forward drop tradeoff have set new standards for performance in rectifier designs for converter output voltages of 3.3V and above.

Ultra-fast Rectifiers
IR offers Ultra-fast Rectifiers for use in motor controls and UPS or modular power supplies--standard units that offer switching speeds less than 200 nsecs and advanced HEXFRED® products that offer switching times as low as 19 nsecs with soft recovery of reverse current. New families released in 2001 are optimized for PFC applications (600V), welding (400V) and telecom AC/DC output rectification (200/300V). Die size, package style and reverse voltage characteristics determine current ratings, with surface mount and axial lead devices rated to a few amps and large dual diode models rated to more than 400 amps.

IR Marketing Strategy
IR focuses on applications where its enabling technology will allow its customers to deliver more competitive end products in home appliances, industrial motor-driven equipment, autos, and information technology.

Automotive
First it was power features for everything that moves. Then high-performance electronics for entertainment, communications, navigation, and diagnostics. Heavier and heavier electrical loads are straining fuel mileage and pushing current automotive electrical systems to the limit. With sole source contracts in several starter-alternator, electric power steering, advanced cooling, and 42-volt electrical systems, IR is re-defining power for next generation vehicles.

Appliance and Industrial Motor Drive
Electrical power blackouts come and go, but one thing stays constant: Demand for energy efficient appliances and industrial motors continues to rise in a world that's struggling to satisfy its appetite for electrical power. Motors consume about half of the world's electricity, and advanced power management technology can dramatically improve their efficiency. IR is defining efficient power architectures for the next generation of appliances and light industrial motors and providing enabling technology for leading brands like Maytag, GE, and Miele.

Information Technology
Notebook computers, PDAs, cell phones, game stations, broadband networks…Advanced power management allows the Internet infrastructure to remain coolly efficient even at gigabit speed and prevents meltdown in pocket-size electronics. High-speed, data-intensive tasks like streaming video and music editing demand increasingly precise power management, often at multiple voltages. IR is positioned at the leading edge, powering Intel SpeedStep and AMD Athlon notebooks, Intel® Pentium® 4 servers, Microsoft's Xbox®, and market-leading flat panel displays and PDAs.

Global Manufacturing Capabilities
International Rectifier is a global manufacturer with major ISO-9001-certified wafer fabrication and assembly facilities totaling more than 800,000 square feet, located close to customers around the world. The largest of IR's manufacturing sites are in the U.S., Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy.

The Power Management Process

At International Rectifier, we've spent the last 57 years dedicated to improving the conversion of electricity from its crude form to its refined form. The Power Management Process takes crude energy in an inconvenient format and refines it to exactly what the load requires. International Rectifier is dedicated to this process. We picture it as a four-stage process, with an additional stage for distribution.

Go to International Rectifier…