Infineon Technologies has launched a new family of ultra-low ohmic smart high-side switches that it says offer the lowest on-resistance and the highest energy capability on the market. Power PROFET switches enable the replacement of electromechanical relays and fuses in power distribution and junction boxes up to 40 A DC.

Infineon points out that the power architecture of today’s vehicles is constrained by the intrinsic limitations of relays and fuses, which are bulky and have limited switching cycle capability. Power PROFET switches offer more than 1,000,000 switching cycles, and can replace several components, such as relays, fuses, relay drivers, cables and connectors.

Power PROFET switches feature on-resistances down to 1.0 mΩ, and are designed to drive high-current applications such as power feeds of electronic control units, auxiliary power outlets, PTC heaters or rear window heaters. They are also suited for applications with high switching cycles and high energy requirements such as starter relays in start-stop systems and electric brake vacuum pumps.

Power PROFET switches are designed to increase energy efficiency. They feature less than 2 W dissipation while conducting 30 A DC. Further power management is supported through integrated current sensing and pulse-width modulation capability. They also offer a benchmark energy handling capability of up to 3,000 mJ for single pulses and 550 mJ for repetitive pulses. This can eliminate the need for a free-wheeling current recirculation path, reducing system cost.

“The new generations of smarter power distribution architectures will greatly benefit from the high reliability, small form factor and diagnosis capability of our new Power PROFET,” said Infineon VP Andreas Doll. “With the release of the ultra-low ohmic Power PROFET family, we further expand our broad portfolio of high-side switches.”

The two lowest ohmic devices of the family are already available, and further Power PROFET switches will start mass production in early 2017. For designers, Infineon provides a Power PROFET evaluation board, as well as evaluation software and application notes.

Source: Infineon