StrongIRFET™ 2 Power MOSFETs in 30 V are Ready for Future Applications

­The rapidly evolving world of electronics fuels the need for more efficient, powerful, and compact components. This drive for innovation extends to silicon power MOSFETs, where substantial efforts are dedicated to enhancing capabilities for a wide range of power electronic applications, including drives, switched mode power supplies (SMPS), and various industrial and consumer use cases.

As a prominent global semiconductor leader in power electronics, Infineon stands as a pioneer in MOSFET design. Significant investments are being made for advancing the technology to produce successive generations of devices with improved performance, higher efficiencies, and enhanced robustness. Furthermore, Infineon is ensuring a flexible and reliable supply chain, offering short lead times and the highest manufacturing standards.

The StrongIRFET™ power MOSFET has been a forerunner in the multisource market, prioritizing the price/performance ratio and high reliability. It played a vital role in shaping power electronic devices today. The release of the StrongIRFET^TM 2 generation in 30 V marks a significant advancement, introducing an upgraded technology that brings a number of improvements to the existing portfolio.

This article covers both the StrongIRFET^TM and StrongIRFET^TM 2 products, comparing their characteristics before delving into the specific features and benefits of the new StrongIRFET^TM 2 family in 30 V.

The legacy StrongIRFET™ 30 V MOSFET family

Launched in 2016, the Infineon StrongIRFET™ power MOSFET portfolio represents the ideal choice for customers looking for a power MOSFET with solid performance and excellent robustness, while keeping an eye on product cost and supply security.

Since then, the power electronics market has grown significantly, which was also driven by increased usage of battery-operated devices and charging adapters, including power tools, robots, drones and similar devices. These emerging applications, as well as existing battery powered devices, are continuously pushing the boundaries of power efficiency and robustness, while also demanding reliable supply and competitive pricing. To address these evolving requirements, Infineon developed the StrongIRFET^TM 2 MOSFETs, expanding its portfolio, and is now also adding StrongIRFET^TM 2 products in 30 V.

Overview of StrongIRFET™ 2 in 30 V

Due to its excellent price/performance ratio, the StrongIRFET™ 2 power MOSFET portfolio is optimized for an even broader range of applications, including industrial SMPS, motor drives, battery powered applications including power and gardening tools, battery management, UPS, and many more.

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Figure 2: Target applications of StrongIRFET™ 2 30 V

The StrongIRFET™ 2 devices in 30 V will be available in a wide range of industry-standard package and pin-out options, starting with TO-220, and expanding to DPAK, D²PAK, PQFN and SuperSO8. With this broad portfolio, the StrongIRFET™ 2 devices meet the requirements of the mass market by enabling convenient selection, purchasing and design flexibility for customers.

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Figure 3: Packages of StrongIRFET™ 2 30 V portfolio

Technical comparison between StrongIRFET™ & StrongIRFET™ 2 in 30 V

The technology underpinning the StrongIRFET™ 2 family offers up to 40 percent R_DS(on) improvement and up to 60 percent lower Q_g compared to the previous generation StrongIRFET™  devices.

Table 1 shows key technology figures of merit (FOMs) improvements compared to the previous generation. These enhancements lead to improved overall system performance, greater robustness, and higher power efficiency.

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Table 1: Technology improvements of StrongIRFET™ 2 30 V vs. previous StrongIRFET™ generation

When choosing the optimal MOSFET for a specific application, it’s essential to recognize how it differs from previous technologies. In this section, we’ll delve into the key electrical parameters of the StrongIRFET™ 2 power MOSFETs in 30 V that are relevant for targeted applications. Notably, the StrongIRFET™ 2 30 V serves as a replacement for the StrongIRFET™ 30 V in SMPS applications, offering improved performance at a more cost-effective price point.

Table 2 provides a comparison of datasheet values between the StrongIRFET™

30 V, and the StrongIRFET™ 2 30 V. It is important to note that values of the electrical parameters provided in the datasheet are often specified at different test conditions by different vendors, thus preventing a fair comparison.

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Table 2: Datasheet comparison of the StrongIRFET™ 30 V and the StrongIRFET™ 2 30 V

Impact and benefits of StrongIRFET™ 2 in 30 V

The StrongIRFET™ 2 family is being used across a wide range of applications, with key use cases including the synchronous buck converter and the full-bridge converters. 

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Figure 4: Use case examples of StrongIRFET^TM 2 30 V

Considering the full bridge converter as an example, commonly employed in SMPS setups like UPS systems, this application operates at lower switching frequencies under hard switching conditions. In such scenarios, the advantages of deploying the latest StrongIRFET™ 2 30 V are pronounced.

This new generation surpasses its predecessors by delivering superior thermal management, that is to its enhanced technology figures of merit, and greater avalanche durability. Moreover, the introduction of lower R_DS(on) values significantly boosts system efficiency, leading to further improvements in thermal behavior and a decrease in power dissipation.

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Figure 5: StrongIRFET^TM 2 performance in Full-bridge converter application

Utilizing the StrongIRFET™ 2 30 V within a synchronous buck topology yields comparable outcomes.

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Figure 6: StrongIRFET^TM 2 performance in synchronous buck converter application

The StrongIRFET™ 2 offers a drop-in replacement from the earlier generation, requiring minimal to no circuit modification. This ensures user-friendly operation and robustness, all while delivering an improved cost-to-performance ratio.

Infineon as a reliable supply partner

In response to the dynamic requirements of the mass market, Infineon has placed a special focus on creating a reliable and flexible supply chain for the StrongIRFET™ 2 family. This addresses customers’ evolving needs in a fast-paced environment, ensuring easy access to products, which is achieved by broad availability at multiple distribution partners and short lead times. Additionally, Infineon maintains the highest manufacturing standards for StrongIRFET™ 2, simplifying product services to enable reliable delivery and supply security. This commitment to quality ensures that customers can rely on Infineon's StrongIRFET™ 2 products.

Conclusion

Today’s applications are shrinking in size, requiring power electronic systems to become smaller and more efficient. In addition, the mass market does not only require good product performance but also demands supply security and a competitive price.

With the new StrongIRFET™ 2 portfolio in 30 V, Infineon addresses all these challenges by offering products with excellent price/performance ratio and high robustness at known Infineon quality, leading the way in powering future applications.

Infineon Technologies