Samsung Shrinks Power MOSFETs for Growing Market

Semiconductor Giant Betting Small Switches Have Big Future

SAN JOSE, Calif., July xx, 1993 -- Anticipating tremendous growth in the use of small power MOSFETs, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. today introduced the first members of its new family of MicroMOSFETs. One year in development, Samsung's MicroMOSFETs require just one-fifth??? the space of today's most commonly used MOSFETs, yet offer the same power handling capacity without the need for heat sinks or special board mounting.

Essentially an electronic toggle switch, Samsung's MicroMOSFETs can control the small motors typically found in disk drives, tape drives, CD-ROM drives, printers, plotters, electric mirrors and fans. In addition, small power MOSFETs are used extensively in the power-down control circuits of laptop and hand-held computers, PDAs and other portable electronic equipment, switching disk drives, display backlights, main memory, keyboards and other components into sleep mode.

"The big push in the broader electronics market today is low-power operation, and as this trend continues, small power MOSFETs like Samsung's MicroMOSFETs will become the next standard in their market, virtually replacing the bulky TO-220 package in five years," predicts Bill Mikelonis, Samsung product marketing manager. "The introduction of our MicroMOSFET family signals our determination to be a leader in this emerging market."

According to Mikelonis, Samsung invested one year developing and testing the tiny 8-pin SOIC package housing the MOSFETs, including a special lead frame that is a critical component used to dissipate heat from the package. The result is a switch capable of handling high power in a small package that is more compatible with today's manufacturing processes.

Samsung's MicroMOSFETs

First in a family of MicroMOSFETs, the SSD2002 and SSD2003 dual MOSFETs are housed in 8-pin, surface mountable, small outline packages. They have rugged polysilicon gate cell structures, low input capacitance and drain-to-source voltage ratings of 25 volts dc.

The SSD2002 houses a pair of complimentary N- and P-channel MOSFETs capable of handling continuous drain currents of 3.5 amperes and 2.3 amperes, respectively, while offering extremely low ON resistances of 0.1 ohm and 0.25 ohm, respectively. In addition, the ON resistance is uniquely tested at two gate voltages -- 10 volts and the TTL logic level of 4.5 volts -- making the SSD2002 MicroMOSFET easy to use in both standard motor switching and logic applications. Its fast 20-nanosecond maximum switching time is essentially independent of the operating temperature.

The SSD2003 MicroMOSFET is a similar device containing two N-channel MOSFETs with specifications identical to those of the SSD2002's N-channel device.

Pricing and Availability

Samsung's SSD2002 and SSD2003 MicroMOSFETs are available now in production quantities for $1.25 each, quantity 10,000.

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