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Recent reliability assessments of industrial power converter systems suggest that inconsistencies in the application of thermal interface material (TIM) can result in measurable efficiency loss and long-term thermal degradation. Although heat issues are often attributed to circuit layout or load conditions, engineers are increasingly identifying the root cause within the heat sink assembly itself.

According to field data from multiple manufacturing environments, variations in paste thickness and distribution can introduce thermal resistance differences as small as 0.1 K/W - enough to cause gradual performance drift over time. These deviations may not be evident during initial testing but they can accumulate under continuous thermal cycling.

Common contributing factors include:

• Excess or insufficient thermal paste volume
• Uneven spread across contact surfaces
• Missing or misaligned interface layers

“These are small manufacturing steps, but they have system-level consequences,” said Diotec's engineers involved in the analysis. “A stable thermal path depends not only on component selection, but on the uniformity of the interface between them and heatsink.”

Diotec made an impressive comparison on Power Schottky Diodes, which were subjected to a High Temperature Reverse Bias Test (HTRB). Without thermal paste between parts and heatsink, there were 36/77 failures after 135 h only, with Ir going into thermal runaway. With correctly applied thermal paste, there were 0/77 failures, and Ir reaching stable values over 1000 h.

These findings highlight a broader principle of reliability in power electronics: performance is not solely determined by materials or design, but also by the stability of the interfaces that connect them to the ambient.

The LDP02 series by Diotec is the ultimate solution for load dump protection in automotive and industrial applications. These cutting-edge protection devices are designed to safeguard sensitive electronics from high-energy transients caused by load dump events, ensuring the longevity and reliability of your systems. They come in an industry-standard, cost-efficient D²PAK case, without compromising performance or reliability.

The LDP02 series has several key features:

• wide operating voltage range
• a fast response time
• superior clamping performance to effectively absorb and dissipate transient energy

The LDP02 series has a robust design that meets international automotive standards, like ISO 7637-2 and ISO 16750-2, and guarantees optimal protection in the most demanding environments.

One member of this family is the LDP02-56AYD2-AQ. It is ideally suited for use in the 24 V battery systems of trucks to protect ECU modules, power distribution systems, and other automotive electronics. The LDP02 series combines efficiency and reliability to protect devices against sudden voltage spikes.

In smart energy meters, a reliable and efficient power supply is essential for continuous operation. This is achieved using a Switched Mode Power Supply (SMPS), in particular using a flyback topology. Here a high-voltage MOSFET serves as the main switching element. The MOSFET rapidly turns on and off to convert high-voltage DC (from rectified AC mains) into regulated low-voltage DC, needed by the meters microcontroller and communication modules. It’s fast switching, high voltage tolerance and low power loss are critical for the SMPS to operate efficiently and safely in harsh grid environments.

The MOSFET’s performance directly impacts the meter’s overall reliability, energy efficiency and long-term stability in the field. Low RDS(on) plays a crucial role while enhancing the system, to meet these condition, the DIJ006N90 from Diotec Semiconductor is a 6 A / 900 V N-channel MOSFET with its highest voltage capability up to 900V, requiring no series connection. The low on-state resistance of typically 2.1 Ohm helps to reduce power losses, reducing the volume of the SMPS and improves power density. It comes in the isolated ITO-220 case outline offering high dielectric strength.