Power ICs: new transistors provide power alternatives.(SEMICONDUCTOR HIGHLIGHT)

As semiconductor solutions for portable applications continue to be integrated into a few, highly defined and intricately tuned ICs, the need for specialized discrete devices to support these ICs and provide optimum performance has increased. While general-purpose transistors can be used, the incremental savings in power gained through the IC integration is lost. To best complement these new ICs, designers need to consider discrete components designed for each specific application. This article will discuss the advancements in bipolar technology--the perforated emitter and the advantages it provides--which have enabled high performance transistors in power efficient packages that out perform MOSFETs of a similar size.

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The basic design of a bipolar transistor (BJT) has not changed much over the +50 years that they have been around. It has proved a very reliable method to control and amplify current through the device (Figure 1), and it is still the design of choice for the billions of basic BJTs manufactured today. …

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