Diotec Semiconductor AG developed a family of 3000V and 4000V rectifier in MELF and SMC offering the highest voltage capability in a space-saving footprint.
Electronic equipment powered from the grid must be protected against high voltage surges. These can occur during natural events like severe weather or lightning strikes. The input rectification stage of Smart Electricity Meters, 5G Base Stations, LED Street Lamps among others must survive high voltage spikes by design. Diotec’s family of 3000 V and 4000 V rectifier offers the highest voltage capability in a space-saving footprint. Designed for average currents of up to 1A and 2A, the MELF and SMC packages respectively offer the best value-for-money. For additional details visit SM4000 and S4000MC.
Transient voltage pulses transmitted along power lines can cause damage to low voltage equipment supplied from the grid. Environmental electrostatic discharge or switching cycles of large inductive loads can generate surges of several 10 000 V that can lead to sparking and arcing, eventually causing permanent damage to appliances or even injuries to humans.
Design norms and regulations mandate the use of surge protection devices (SPD) that absorb excess voltage and clamp the surges to a safe level. In many parts of the world the voltage at the input terminals of grid powered appliances, such as smart energy meters, EV charging stations, LED street lamps, or telecom base stations is limited by SPD to a maximum of 2000 V.
The input rectification stage of the appliance must be designed accordingly. Each diode in the input rectification stage must have a reverse voltage capability greater than the max specified limit. Furthermore, designers must keep a reasonable safety margin for higher reliability and increased lifetime. Using 2000 V diodes will have the input rectifier operating with no safety margin, which can lead to damage and/or malfunction of the entire system. To overcome this challenge, designers connect several diodes in series, thus multiplying the reverse voltage of each diode by the number of diodes in series to achieve higher total reverse voltages. This solution offers high design flexibility at the cost of high component count and large PCB area
Diotec’s family of 4000 V standard rectifier offers a high reverse voltage capability, enabling reducing the total component count and PCB space. 1 A and 2 A variants are available in MELF and SMC packages respectively. Furthermore, the Pb-free, RoHS compliant assembly supports the efforts for a better climate by reducing the number of components, which accounts for less material used both to manufacture the diodes as well as in packaging, logistics, etc. For further information, including technical documentation, pricing, availability, click here:
