New Vishay Siliconix Monolithic Dual JFETs Eliminate Latch-Up
In Amplifier Designs
Complete New Family Features More Than 20 Devices in TO-78 and
SOIC-8 Packages
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - May 2, 2003 - A new series of junction
FETs (JFETs) that eliminate the problem of latch-up in amplifier
designs was released today by Siliconix incorporated (NASDAQ:
SILI), an 80.4%-owned subsidiary of Vishay Intertechnology,
Inc. (VSH: NYSE).
A perennial challenge for analog designers, latch-up occurs
when several JFETs on the same substrate form a parasitic junction
that can turn on unexpectedly, causing excessive current to
flow.
The complete new family of "no latch" monolithic
dual JFETs, which includes more than 20 devices, overcomes this
problem by providing an exposed substrate connection via an
external pin, allowing designers to bias the substrate with
a positive potential to prevent a latch-up condition.
Monolithic dual JFETs are widely used as a high-performance
differential front end for amplifiers in test equipment, industrial
process equipment, military monitors, and any other application
where high-accuracy data acquisition is needed. Integrating
two transistors on the same substrate ensures that the temperature
of both channels is the same. As a result, performance is more
evenly matched across the device’s operating temperature
range than in implementations with two single-die JFETs.
Until now, designers have needed to use multi-chip JFETs or
additional external components to ensure that no latch-up occurs.
With this new family of devices, Vishay provides a significantly
less expensive, monolithic alternative available in both the
TO-78 and the surface-mount SOIC-8 packages.
The more than 20 devices released today offer a range of breakdown
voltages from -25 V to -50 V. For superior low-noise capability,
offset/drift voltage ranges from 40 mV down to an extraordinarily
low 5 mV. This tight VGS matching minimizes errors in front-end
amplifiers. A range of gate-to-source cut-off voltage ratings
from –0.5 V to –6 V gives designers a wide choice
of devices to suit their specific applications.
Product data sheet are available at:
Samples and production quantities of the new no-latch JFETs are
available now, with lead times of six to eight weeks for larger
orders.
Siliconix is a leading manufacturer of power MOSFETs, power
ICs, analog switches and multiplexers for computers, cell phones,
fixed communications networks, automobiles, and other consumer
and industrial electronic systems. With 2002 worldwide sales
of $372.9 million, the Company's facilities include a Class
1, wafer fab dedicated to the manufacture of power products
in Santa Clara, California, and an affiliated Class 1, wafer
fab located in Itzehoe, Germany. The Company’s products
are also fabricated by subcontractors in Japan, Germany, China
and Taiwan. Assembly and test facilities include a company-owned
facility in Taiwan, a joint venture in Shanghai, China, and
subcontractors in the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Israel, and
the United States.
