TowerJazz announces new 700V technology

ISPSD 2013, JAPAN: TowerJazz announced the release of a 17 ohm mm^2 750V device which will help customers reduce die size for AC to DC converters, required in fast growing applications such as LED lighting, by a factor of two relative to its prior technology.

TowerJazz is presenting this innovation along with its entire power management platform at the 25th International Symposium on Power Semiconductor Devices (ISPSD) in Kanazawa, Japan on May 26-30, 2013.

The market for power management ICs in AC to DC applications is expected to grow 6.3 percent over the next five years while LED applications is the fastest growing market segment with an estimated 56 percent growth expected over the next five years.

TowerJazz’s new technology enables a cost advantage for customers building next-generation ICs for AC to DC converters in applications such as power supplies and LED lights. The technology integrates on the production 700V process which is today the most streamlined in the industry, requiring only 16 masking layers for a two layer metal process. The new technology does not add masking layers, preserving this significant advantage over other solutions while reducing on-resistance and shrinking die size significantly.

In addition to AC to DC conversion, TowerJazz’s 700V technology includes a level-shifting device that makes the technology ideal for gate drivers of IGBTs and discrete power MOSFETs used for example in electrical motors. The quick adoption of electrical motors in white good appliances is providing another fast path for this technology.