Siliconix Launches Complete Family of TrenchFET Power MOSFETs Built on Advanced P-Channel Technology.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 2003

New Load Switches Offer On-Resistance as Low

as 5 milliohms in SO-8 Footprint

Siliconix incorporated (NASDAQ: SILI), an 80.4%-owned subsidiary of Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (NYSE: VSH), today announced that it is in production with a record-breaking family of new TrenchFET(R) power MOSFETs built on a patent-pending p-channel technology that reduces device on-resistance to as low as 5 milliohms in the PowerPAK(R) SO-8.

Used as load switches, the p-channel power MOSFETs built on the new technology will help to reduce power consumption and the board area required for power components in cell phones, PDAs, notebook computers, and other compact, battery-operated products. In these systems, p-channel MOSFETs perform an essential role by turning off features such as the display or the power amplifier when these are not being used, or by switching the system from active mode to sleep mode, and thus saving on battery life.

Siliconix was the first supplier to introduce TrenchFET technology into the market. With these new devices, the company adds to a rich patent portfolio, which includes both n-channel and p-channel TrenchFETs.

Siliconix is using the new p-channel technology to upgrade all of its leadership single-channel and dual-channel 12-V, 20-V, and 30-V p-channel MOSFETs. Devices built on the new technology will be available in all LITTLE FOOT(R) small-outline package types (SO-8, TSSOP-8, TSOP-6, and SOT-23) as well as in the leadless, thermally enhanced PowerPAK SO-8 and 1212-8 packages, which are fast becoming the industry benchmark for power MOSFET performance.

The first 10 devices in the new family include single-channel, -12-V load switches in the PowerPAK 1212-8 and SOT-23; -20-V devices in the LITTLE FOOT SO-8 and TSSOP-8; and -30-V devices in the PowerPAK SO-8 and TSOP-6.

On-resistance for the -12-V Si7407DN, packaged in the 3.3-mm by 3.3-mm PowerPAK 1212-8, is just 12 milliohms at -4.5 V, a 25% improvement over the previous state of the art for this package type. In addition to saving space, the PowerPAK 1212-8 dissipates up to 3.8 W of power, nearly double the level of any MOSFET device with a TSSOP-8-size footprint or smaller. Thermal resistance of just 1.9 degrees Celsius per Watt allows space requirements to be reduced in portable electronics without increasing "hot spots."

The first LITTLE FOOT TSOP-6 devices built on the new p-channel technology include the single-channel, 30-V Si3483DV. The Si3483DV is rated for maximum on-resistance of 53 milliohms at 4.5 V, a 28% improvement over the next-best device on the market. Maximum current handling for the device is 6.2 A.

The -20-V Si4423DY, the first SO-8 device utilizing the new p-channel technology, is rated at 7.5 milliohms at 4.5 V and 11.5 milliohms at 1.8 V, improvements of 12% and 18%, respectively, over the next-best devices. The Si7451DP is the first -30-V, p-channel device in the PowerPAK SO-8. On-resistance for the device is just 5 milliohms at 10 V, with a maximum VGS of 25 V. This higher gate-to-source voltage provides an extra safety margin in 20-V-bus notebook computer applications.

In the TSSOP-8 package, the new -20-V Si6413DQ is rated for an on-resistance value of 16 milliohms at 1.8 V, a 26% improvement over the next-best device, and for maximum current handling of 8.8 A. The newest SOT-23 device built on Vishay's patented p-channel technology is the Si2333DS, a -12-V device that surpasses competing devices by 26% with on-resistance of 59 milliohms at 1.8 V.

In addition to these single-channel devices, the new power MOSFET family also includes dual-channel devices in the PowerPAK SO-8, LITTLE FOOT SO-8, PowerPAK 1212-8, and TSSOP-8.

Released in the PowerPAK SO-8 is the -30-V Si7945DP, rated for an on-resistance of just 31 milliohms at 4.5 V and a maximum VGS of 20 V. The -12-V Si4933DY, a new dual-channel device in the LITTLE FOOT SO-8, is rated for 4.5 V, 2.5 V, and 1.8 V, with a 27% better on-resistance at 1.8 V -- just 22 milliohms -- than the nearest competing device.

The new Si7909DN, a space-saving, -12-V PowerPAK 1212-8 device, offers low on-resistance of 37 milliohms at 4.5 V, as well as high power dissipation of 2.8 A. In the TSSOP-8 package, the -30-V Si6993DQ provides an 11% improvement over the competition, with an on-resistance value of 31 milliohms at 10 V.

Data sheets for the new devices are available now from the MOSFET section of the Vishay Web site at http://www.vishay.com/mosfets/trenchfet-list.

Samples and production quantities of the new p-channel power MOSFETs are available now, with lead times of 8 to 10 weeks for larger orders.

Siliconix is a leading manufacturer of power MOSFETs, power ICs, analog switches, and multiplexers for computers, cell phones, fixed communications networks, automobiles, and other consumer and industrial electronic systems. With 2002 worldwide sales of $372.9 million, the company's facilities include a Class 1 wafer fab dedicated to the manufacture of power products in Santa Clara and an affiliated Class 1 wafer fab located in Itzehoe, Germany. The company's products are also fabricated by subcontractors in Japan, Germany, China, and Taiwan. Assembly and test facilities include a company-owned facility in Taiwan, a joint venture in Shanghai, China, and subcontractors in the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Israel, and the United States.

Vishay, a Fortune 1000 company listed on the NYSE, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of discrete semiconductors (diodes, rectifiers, transistors, optoelectronics, and selected ICs) and passive electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, and transducers). The company's components can be found in products manufactured in a very broad range of industries worldwide. Vishay is headquartered in Malvern, Pa., and has plants in 16 countries employing more than 25,000 people. Vishay can be found on the Internet at http://www.vishay.com.

TrenchFET, LITTLE FOOT, and PowerPAK are registered trademarks of Siliconix incorporated.