John D. Harnden

Power semiconductors: Looking ahead: Consumer applications will grow for moderate-current devices while large-diameter wafers await packaging innovations

The article underlines the role of Czochralski material in the manufacture and continues to suggest that the need for a more efficient packaging development. Comparisons are made between power transistors and thyristors together with prediction charts for power ratings and operating times. An insert is also given covering the tools and processes used in the device manufacture.

Present-day solid-state power switches

New static components and devices, many of which are characterized by decreasing cost with time, are being developed at a rapid rate. A review of their properties and applications, at this time, is in order Although the SCR is only seven years old,1 many of the original types are either obsolescent or already obsolete in view of the apparent ability of present-day power semiconductor technology to develop “ultimate” devices (see Fig. 1).

Power Conditioning Comes of Age

Solid state power conditioning, after two decades of dominance in the heavy apparatus and industrial areas, is beginning to rapidly penetrate into many other segments of our economy, including wide applications in the telephone industry as well as receiving increasing emphasis in entertainment and consumer products. Much of the present emphasis in solid state power conditioning is on improved efficiency, reduced cost, and maximizing reliability. The strength of the efforts in solid state power conditioning are directly dependent on progress in components, principally semiconductor, although passes such as Ls and Cs are increasingly important. Thus it will be helpful to review a brief history of the development of solid state power conditioning equipment and devices: also to focus on projections for future developments with regard to devices and possible equipment implications.