News & Events
MicroFET™ Packaging To Reduce Size and Power Loss of Intersil’s Power Management Solution

— Facilitates increased power and ciruit efficiency
—Decreases profile height and footprint

IRVINE, CA, July 14, 2000 — Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), a leader in power management solutions for desktop PCs, file servers and portable information appliances, today announced MicroFET™, a leadless, ultra-thin, small footprint packaging breakthrough to be used in conjunction with its metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). MicroFET packaging technology enables Intersil to meet the demand for increased processor power and circuit efficiency in today’s increasingly smaller portable and stationary information appliances.

The new packaging technology significantly reduces profile height and has a smaller footprint, enabling Intersil MOSFETs to be incorporated into smaller hand held and portable information devices. The package significantly improves the power delivery of MOSFETs by providing more direct electrical and thermal conduction paths between the MOSFET chip and the printed circuit board (PCB). Conduction losses, switching losses and thermal resistance of MOSFET devices are reduced, facilitating longer battery life in smaller and lighter portable appliances.

"Combining the new packaging capabilities with Intersil’s DenseTrench™ MOSFET technology greatly increases the ability to efficiently deliver power in smaller form factors," said Wayde Nelson, director of the Computer and Communications MOSFET Business at Intersil. "This effort is driven by the market’s demand for portable, and increasingly powerful, information appliances. Intersil is poised to meet the growing power requirements demanded by integrated communications developments through improvements in MOSFET technology, and advanced packaging solutions such as the MicroFET are a key component to this process."

"The combination of excellent performance and low cost found in the MicroFET package complements Intersil's DenseTrench MOSFET technology, continued Nelson. To make Power products successful, the package must be engineered so that it does not compromise the performance of the MOSFET, and at the same time, it should provide a rugged, reliable, and cost-effective interconnect."

Intersil is working with multiple packaging manufacturers on this package innovation, enabling open tooling on the design. "The industry, including Intersil, is demanding the security of multiple suppliers," added Nelson. "As a result, many suppliers have responded by releasing proprietary packages."

The MicroFET package features exposed die mount pads that can be solder-attached directly to the PC board and serve as both a direct heat sinking path and the electrical connection of the MOSFET drain to the PCB. It can be mounted with standard production equipment with no special soldering processes required. Because external leads or interconnect pads of the package are integral to the plastic body, lead coplanarity is not an issue. The package is extremely robust and passes Level 1 moisture resistance testing.

The initial design of the new packaging technology will be SO-8 footprint compatible, and will be available in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2000. Electrical resistance is reduced by 50 percent as compared to the same MOSFET in a more conventional SO-8 package. Additionally, the MicroFET package can accept up to 2.18 times the maximum die size and reduces package height by 48 percent. The design is extendable to cover a range of package applications from smaller than the SC70 package to larger than the TO263.

For a graphic representation and further information about the MicroFET package, visit Intersil’s Web site at http://www.intersil.com/mosfets/microfet.

About Intersil
Intersil uses its semiconductor expertise to enable highly integrated voice, data and video communications. Intersil's integrated communications portfolio includes PRISM^® Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) chip sets that enable mobile connectivity products for the home and office; analog, mixed-signal and digital integrated circuits for broadband access to wireless and wired Wide Area Networks (WANs); and power management products that enable 24x7 reliability in network servers, next generation PCs and information appliances. For more information about Intersil, visit the company's Internet homepage at www.intersil.com.

PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Corporation
DenseTrench and MicroFET are trademarks of Intersil Corporation