Self-protected MOSFETs boost reliability of vehicle electronics

摘要

The automotive industry demands cost-effective and fully reliable electrical systems, but this tough and potentially destructive environment poses a huge challenge for the power semiconductor devices needed to control the myriad functions that are now commonplace in modern vehicles. Automotive electrical equipment can be subject to extreme variations in nominal battery voltage, as illustrated by Fig. 1. This can vary from -12 Vdc, arising from a reversed connection, to 125 Vdc due to load transients and inductive field decay. Add to this the extremes of operating temperature and numerous interconnections, which allow the possibility of ESD damage from human interactions, and the result is a more challenging environment than, for example, that found in the consumer market.