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Almost everyone knows the situation: summer vacations and vacation traffic. Even before you can choose an alternative route, the traffic jam messages sound on the radio—you've missed the last exit; the traffic jam is pre-programmed. Maybe your cell phone isn't charged enough, or it ends up in the foot well at the next bend because the cradle wasn't mounted tightly enough. There are many reasons why an integrated navigation system in the vehicle is worth it. Diotec's SK34SMA-3G-AQ is used as a reverse polarity protection diode in a navigation system with a head-up display. It provides a forward current of 3 A and a 40 V reverse voltage and is qualified to AEC-Q101. With a flux voltage of typically 390 mV at 1 A, it has low self-heating during operation and thus offers maximum reliability even in summer temperatures. For a relaxed trip to the south!

The BMS ensures the safety, longevity, and optimal performance of the battery in the e-vehicle. It helps extend the electric range to 500 kilometers and beyond in modern vehicles. This means that many vacation areas in Italy can already be reached without charging from southern Germany. Typically, the BMS consists of a battery management unit (BMU), sensors, a power stage, and a battery disconnect unit (BDU). The BMU monitors the battery's voltage, current, temperature, and state of charge, while the sensors provide data to the BMU. It also controls the charging process, either through a high-power DC connection or the on-board charger (OBC). The BDU disconnects the high-voltage battery from the vehicle when it is not in use. Diotec's latest application note addresses discrete semiconductor solutions for BMS, such as power MOSFETs, load dump protection, TVS diodes, Schottky, Zener, ESD diodes, and voltage regulators.

Summer is the perfect season to make the most of the power of the sun. Not only our immune system is activated, photovoltaic systems are also in top form - just like the PV systems on the roofs of the Diotec headquarters in Germany. Silicon carbide Schottky diodes, like the SICW20C120 can reduce losses in the solar inverter.

Solar inverters convert the direct current (DC), generated by solar panels, into alternating current (AC). The power electronics switch high voltages at very high frequencies; the switching losses in the required freewheeling diodes and IGBTs become dominant here. Schottky diodes based on silicon carbide (SiC) can be designed for very high blocking voltages. They offer a reverse recovery time of almost zero (more correctly one would have to speak of the capacitive discharge time). This leads to significantly reduced switching losses, both in the diode itself and in the IGBT. The SICW20C120, from Diotec is a 2x 10 A / 1200 V SiC Schottky diode in a TO-247 package. Their capacitive storage charge is typically only 41 nC, which ensures the desired fast switching time and thus a reduction in switching losses.

Especially for summertime, more and more people are switching to e-bikes as an environmentally friendly alternative to the car, both for commuting to work and for leisure. In Germany alone, 2.2 million e-bikes were sold in 2022. The Power MOSFET DI100N10PQ from Diotec is used in the drive of high-performance e-bikes.

The success of the e-bike is essentially based on the development of lithium-ion batteries. The most powerful motors would hardly be of interest if the battery would not provide the system with important energy over many kilometers. An advanced e-biker needs a drive with around 300 to 400 watts and a torque of up to 85 Nm. Diotec's latest power MOSFETs DI100N10PQ, are the perfect solution for controlling the brushless DC motors used here. They offer a drain current of up to 100 A at a drain-source voltage of 100 V. The RDS(on) of only 4.5 mΩ ensures low losses and thus a longer battery life. And the QFN5x6 package guarantees that the six components used per drive take up very little space.