New Vishay Siliconix Monolithic Dual JFETs Eliminate Latch-Up In Amplifier Designs

Complete New Family Features More Than 20 Devices in TO-78 and SOIC-8 Packages

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - May 2, 2003 - A new series of junction FETs (JFETs) that eliminate the problem of latch-up in amplifier designs was released today by Siliconix incorporated (NASDAQ: SILI), an 80.4%-owned subsidiary of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (VSH: NYSE).

A perennial challenge for analog designers, latch-up occurs when several JFETs on the same substrate form a parasitic junction that can turn on unexpectedly, causing excessive current to flow.

The complete new family of "no latch" monolithic dual JFETs, which includes more than 20 devices, overcomes this problem by providing an exposed substrate connection via an external pin, allowing designers to bias the substrate with a positive potential to prevent a latch-up condition.

Monolithic dual JFETs are widely used as a high-performance differential front end for amplifiers in test equipment, industrial process equipment, military monitors, and any other application where high-accuracy data acquisition is needed. Integrating two transistors on the same substrate ensures that the temperature of both channels is the same. As a result, performance is more evenly matched across the device’s operating temperature range than in implementations with two single-die JFETs.

Until now, designers have needed to use multi-chip JFETs or additional external components to ensure that no latch-up occurs. With this new family of devices, Vishay provides a significantly less expensive, monolithic alternative available in both the TO-78 and the surface-mount SOIC-8 packages.

The more than 20 devices released today offer a range of breakdown voltages from -25 V to -50 V. For superior low-noise capability, offset/drift voltage ranges from 40 mV down to an extraordinarily low 5 mV. This tight VGS matching minimizes errors in front-end amplifiers. A range of gate-to-source cut-off voltage ratings from –0.5 V to –6 V gives designers a wide choice of devices to suit their specific applications.

Product data sheet are available at:

Samples and production quantities of the new no-latch JFETs are available now, with lead times of six to eight weeks for larger orders.

Siliconix is a leading manufacturer of power MOSFETs, power ICs, analog switches and multiplexers for computers, cell phones, fixed communications networks, automobiles, and other consumer and industrial electronic systems. With 2002 worldwide sales of $372.9 million, the Company's facilities include a Class 1, wafer fab dedicated to the manufacture of power products in Santa Clara, California, and an affiliated Class 1, wafer fab located in Itzehoe, Germany. The Company’s products are also fabricated by subcontractors in Japan, Germany, China and Taiwan. Assembly and test facilities include a company-owned facility in Taiwan, a joint venture in Shanghai, China, and subcontractors in the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Israel, and the United States.

Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., a Fortune 1,000 Company listed on the NYSE (VSH), is one of the world's largest manufacturers of discrete semiconductors (diodes, rectifiers, transistors, and optoelectronics and selected ICs) and passive electronic components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, sensors, and transducers). These components are used in virtually all types of electronic devices and equipment, in the industrial, computing, automotive, consumer, telecommunications, military, aerospace, and medical markets. Its product innovations, successful acquisition strategy, and ability to provide "one-stop shop" service have made Vishay a global industry leader. Vishay can be found on the Internet at http://www.vishay.com.