Automotive Discrete MOSFETS: A Competitive Differentiator

The automotive market sector comprises the largest share of ON Semiconductor’s revenue compared to other market segments. In the automotive market vertical, the Power Solutions Group (PSG) offers competitive solutions for powertrain, ADAS, interior, body, connectivity and LED lighting applications. The progression of today’s internal combustion engine automobiles to vehicle fleets with higher levels of automation, increased fuel efficiency and reduction in emissions have introduced a new set of challenges to electronic system design. Semiconductor suppliers are expected to provide low-cost, low-weight component solutions that exhibit reduced power dissipation in conjunction with thermal performance up to junction temperatures of 175°C.

To date, ON Semiconductor has achieved a strong position in the automotive MOSFET market and offers a broad AECQ-101 qualified MOSFET portfolio with competitive components. The portfolio offers solutions for power architectures in 48V mild hybrid systems, on-board charging units in PHEV/ BEV vehicles, high voltage to low voltage DC/DC converters in electrified powertrain and battery connected 12V ECU applications that meet automotive system design considerations.

The μ8FL (3x3mm), SO8-FL (5x6mm), Power56, LFPAK, Power 88 (8x8 mm) and TOLL (10x12mm) are smaller packages under promotion to replace the larger legacy DPAK, D2PAK and SOT-223 footprints traditionally used for motor drive, solenoid control, reverse battery protection circuits and 12V ECU systems. Compared with the legacy packages, the smaller dimension footprints have lower construction costs with resistance and inductance values as low as 0.2 mΩ and 1nH respectively. These attributes translate into cost-effective solutions with low Rds-ON and gate charge values that are complimented with minimized conduction and switching losses.

Table 1 Automotive MOSFET in Key Applications

In addition, the smaller space-saving footprint packages exhibit comparable thermal performance to the larger DPAK and D2PAK packages. To adhere to electrified powertrain system design considerations, the Power56 dual cool, Power88 single/dual cool, 650V SuperFET® III and LFPAK56 MOSFET packages are available. The Dual Cool package construction allows for maximum PCB board space usage with excellent thermal conduction. The Power56 has Power SO-8 footprint compatibility and reduced parasitics. The Power88 single package is condensed in an 8x8 mm footprint with low profile construction suitable to replace the larger PTH and D2PAK packages. The SuperFET® III MOSFET is a high voltage FET with reduced Rds-ON, gate and output charge facilitating reduction of conduction and switching losses. The SuperFET® III MOSFET comes in easy drive and FRFET versions that have good SOA ratings. The easy drive version allows for very low EMI and voltage spikes with internal tuning of gate resistance and parasitic capacitances. The FRFET version includes a highly optimized recovery diode with ultra-low Qrr and Trr essential for minimizing switching losses and increasing system level reliability.

The LFPAK56 package has an ultra-low package stray inductance and resistance value. It has a rugged construction with a gull-wing design allowing for expansion and contraction due to thermal and mechanical stress without compromising performance. The table summarizes automotive MOSFET implementations in key applications.

For additional information, learn more about our automotive MOSFETs.