Development of “Full SiC” Modules for use in Power Devices by ROHM
Use of Silicon Carbide (SiC) technology in power electronic sector is expected to gain in popularity due to its superior material properties including its smaller power conversion loss in comparison to silicon (Si). According to Engineering Advancement Association of Japan study, if all conventional Si semiconductors were replaced with SiC in Japan alone, the energy saving will be somewhere equivalent to energy produced by 4 nuclear power plants. Based on this technology ROHM has announced the development of “Full SiC” power modules comprised of entirely of SiC power elements. Read more
Development of Industry’s highest Receiver Sensitivity Wireless Communication LSI
LAPIS Semiconductor formally known as OKI semiconductor, a subsidiary of ROHM Group toward the end of 2011 has released sample of industry’s highest receiver sensitivity wireless communication LSI ideal to be installed in smart meters. The newly developed “ML7396” LSI is designed for 950MHzs band standard of specified low power radio station. The new LSI is developed based on LAPIS’s RF-CMOS technology featuring low power consumption in addition to its high receiver sensitivity of 105dBm. The new LSI is equipped with 2-diversity antennas for selecting the best reception. Read more
Release of Industry’s Most Thinnest Power Supply Modules for Mobile Devices by ROHM
Rohm Semiconductor has announced release of industry’s most compact form factor power supply modules that are targeted for multifunctional mobile devices with high density applications. The new BZ6A Series integrates all required capacitors and inductors in a single package of 2.3 x 2.9 x 1.0 mm. The new BZ6A Series high-speed 6MHz operation results in more than 85% power efficiency. Read more
Development of a High-Speed, High-Current SiC Trench MOSFET Module for EV and HEV
ROHM has recently released a high-speed, high-current module with SiC trench MOSFETs for use in electric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), as well as industrial equipment applications. The new modules incorporates 16 SiC trench MOSFETs developed by ROHM operating at 600 V/ 1,000 A, with high-speed switching of tens of nanoseconds, a level that can not be achieved with Si-IGBTs. The module can incorporate 1,200 V class devices and operates at high temperature of 250 degrees Celsius. Read more
[CEATEC]Industry’s Smallest Chip Resistor allowing High-Density Packaging by ROHM
Rohm has developed world’s smallest chip resistor of 03015-size which allows high-density packaging for mobile devices such as smartphones. Rohm has achieved the ultra-compact design through use of unique miniaturization technology and review of dicing method, resulting in substantial improvement in tolerance of package dimensions in the cutting process up to ±5 micro ohm. Improvement in dimensional accuracy will result in reduction of stiction errors in the packaging process. Read more
World’s first Multi-Touch Controller for Resistive Type Touchscreens
Increasing number of screens panels in various consumer electronics are touchscreen panels, which has been driven with increasing functionality and sophistication of electronic devices, where operation of touch panels is increasing shifting toward pinch, spread and other intuitive finger gestures. UP to now, the only way to make this happen was through use of more expensive electrostatic capacitance type touchscreens which require certain input devices. Now, in order to give the same type of multi-touch (two-point) capabilities and intuitive gesture control, including pinching, spreading and rotating to resistive-type touchscreen due to their low cost, Rohm has developed industry’s first multi-touch controller for resistive touchscreens. Read more
Industry’s First Driver LSI Specifically Designed for Automotive LED Tail Lamps by ROHM
Rohm has announced the development of industry’s first driver LSI for use in automobile LED tail light. The new BD8372HFP-M driver LSI delivers a 200 mA of output while exhibiting just one-fourth the variation of chips consisting of discrete components. The new Rohm tail lamp LED driver supports separate high/low current settings, with built-in LED open and short protection as well as.Through independent setting the brightness (current) levels for tail lamp and stop lamp illumination can be set separately. Read more
Development of World’s First Single Chip LED Driver for Automotive Application by ROHM
With its superior efficiency and longer service life, many automakers have been gradually shifting to LED lighting for automotive headlights as well as daytime running lights (DRLs). Up to now use of LED lights in automobile headlights have been limited to certain portion of the market such as the luxury segment, where the automakers as well as headlamp manufacturers have used general purpose LDE driver LSIs or discrete components, requiring the use of separate driver circuit when equipping the vehicle with DRLs. In an effort to develop a dedicated LSI for use with LED headlamps which can incorporate all the functionality needed to serve as an LED driver for headlamps, Rohm has developed BD8381EFV-M, a single-chip LED driver, providing PWM light modulation without any needs for microcontroller, by incorporating a built-in oscillator circuit for use with DRLs. Read more
Release of High-Power, Low-Ohmic chip Resistors by ROHM
ROHM announced a new addition to company’s LTR series chip resistors with superior junction reliability. ROHM’s offers its thick-film lineup in various range of resistance from 10m ohm to 9.1 ohm. The wide terminal configuration of the newly developed chip resistors offers improvement in joint reliability against thermal fluctuations. In addition to this, the resistive element is situated on the backside (reverse-mount design) which helps in minimizing resistance fluctuations during mounting. Read more
Development of highly Durable Protective Film for Thermal Printheads by ROHM
Use of inexpensive thermal paper comes with headache of shorter lifetime of the thermal printhead because of abrasive surface conditions, resulting in abnormal wear, scratching as well as electrolytic corrosion. To overcome these issues, Rohm has come up with a new protective film using new materials, named T Coat, capable of providing 3 times the abrasion resistance compare to normal coats. Read more
