IXYS acquisition and Monolith production position Littelfuse as Tier 1 power semiconductor provider
SAN ANTONIO, March 1, 2018 — Littelfuse, Inc., IXYS Corporation, which was acquired by Littelfuse in January 2018, and Monolith Semiconductor Inc., a developer of silicon carbide technology in which Littelfuse holds a controlling interest, will exhibit their growing power semiconductor portfolio in the Littelfuse booth (#1619) at the Applied Power Electronics Conference & Exposition (APEC 2018), March 4–8, 2018. The portfolio expansion is the result of the IXYS acquisition and the latest additions to the SiC MOSFET and diode product line from Monolith Semiconductor. This year’s Conference activities will also include a panel discussion, in-booth demonstrations, and industry session presentations. The theme for this year’s booth is “Fast and Agile Just Got Stronger.”
A broader power semiconductor portfolio
Littelfuse and IXYS will be making their first joint public appearance at APEC 2018 to talk about plans to market what has now become one of the industry’s broadest power semiconductor product portfolios. The IXYS acquisition adds new technologies for the manufacturing of power modules, high-temperature/low-loss discretes, medium- and high-power thyristors, fast recovery diodes and rectifiers, industrial IGBTs, MOSFETs, driver and control ICs, and optical and solid-state relays. These new technologies complement existing Littelfuse technologies, which include low-power thyristors, ignition IGBTs, and silicon carbide Schottky diodes and MOSFETs. The IXYS acquisition significantly broadens the Littelfuse power semiconductor portfolio and power electronics applications expertise, and allows serving the full range of power semiconductor needs.
Corey Deyalsingh, Director, Power Semiconductors at Littelfuse, noted, “During the last few years, IXYS and Littelfuse have been expanding their product platforms to pursue many of the same markets. The IXYS acquisition gives Littelfuse customers a single source for power semiconductors, so no matter what the application is, Littelfuse can support it with the delivery and application support customers need on a global scale. The product technology reach means we can offer customers unbiased advice on the best solutions for their applications. Together, we provide power electronics design engineers the advanced application expertise they need to innovate at the very highest levels while complying with changing global standards.”
In-booth demonstrations
In-booth demonstrations of Littelfuse technologies will include the Dynamic Characterization Platform for characterizing SiC device switching behavior and the Gate Drive Evaluation Platform for studying the optimal device driving conditions for specific applications. In addition, Texas Instruments will exhibit its 10 kW, 1 kV, 3-Phase, 3-Level SiC-Based Grid Tie Inverter Reference Design for a transformer-less solar string inverter with 99 percent peak efficiency, industry-leading power density, and 50 kHz switching using SiC from Littelfuse–Monolith.
Expert panel discussion
Littelfuse will sponsor an expert panel discussion on Tuesday, March 6 from 1:30pm to 2:00pm in Room 214B on the topic of “The Path to Predictable, High-Volume, High-Yield Manufacturing of SiC Devices.” The panel will describe making the transition from 3- inch and 4-inch SiC wafers to 6-inch SiC wafers and developing design and process techniques that are compatible with processes in a silicon CMOS fab. Speakers will include Sujit Banerjee, CEO of Monolith Semiconductor, Andy Wilson, Business Unit Manager, X-FAB SiC Foundry, and Vladimir Blasko, Senior Fellow, United Technologies Research Center.
Industry session presentations
Monolith Semiconductor will make three industry session presentations during the Conference:
- “Unleash SiC MOSFETs—Extract the Best Performance.” Tuesday, March 6, Room 212, 9:30am.
- “Are Antiparallel Diodes Needed for SiC MOSFETs?” Wednesday, March 7, Room 207, 9:45am.
- “Scalable Platform for In-Circuit Reliability Testing of SiC MOSFETs and Diodes Emulating Real-life Voltage and Current Stresses.” Thursday, March 8, Room 206, 3:20pm.
About Littelfuse
Founded in 1927, Littelfuse is the global leader in circuit protection with advancing platforms in power control and sensor technologies. The company serves customers in the electronics, automotive and industrial markets with products that include fuses, semiconductors, polymers, ceramics, relays and sensors. Littelfuse has more than 11,000 employees in more than 50 locations worldwide. For more information, please visit Littelfuse.com.
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