A performance update for production power processes

Power processes continue to evolve and achieve higher performance levels than previous generations. Market- or application-specific solutions allow a semiconductor manufacturer to meet tough specifications for highly-competitive end products by optimizing production processes for performance and yield. The system designers' challenges in computing, wireless communications, portable equipment, industrial and automotive applications are being answered with a variety of silicon technologies. These technologies include: megahertz and ultrafast rectifiers, power MOSFETs in very low (<30 V), low (30-100 V) medium (100-250 V) and high (>250 V) voltage ratings and IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) (500-2000 V) from a number of suppliers. More advanced technologies such as GaAs (gallium arsenide) are provided by a limited number of suppliers and meet very specific market/application requirements. Also, the addition of on-board circuitry, including smart power levels of integration, continues to provide performance advantages for many applications. With increasing speed and lower power dissipation requirements, packaging is more critical than ever to the successful application of power devices. This paper discusses the advantages and differences between production power technologies in the context of the applications that they are addressing and provides some insight into where they are going in the near future. Packaging is also covered as it relates to performance targets of the applications.