ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe to the PowerPulse Newsletter

Conferences and Forums

Darnell's Energy Summit

Darnell's Power Forum

Green Building Power Forum

Smart Grid Electronics Forum

New Products

March 12, 2013

TI Introduces Smart Bypass Diode to Replace Conventional Schottky Devices

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) today introduced a smart bypass diode in a standard surface-mount package with 15-A current handling capability and low power dissipation. In a typical application, each SM74611 can lower power dissipation by 80 percent and reduces the operating temperature inside the junction box by 50 degrees C when compared with a similar box using three conventional Schottky diodes.

Recommended: IXYS Introduces an Anode-Gated Thyristor Technology Platform

When a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel is shaded, the SM74611 active diode provides an alternate low-resistance path for string current to prevent hot spots that can damage the panel. The SM74611 protects the panel and improves PV solar panel reliability by boosting efficiency, and the reduced thermal dissipation enables more compact junction boxes with smaller heat-sinks.

ADVERTISEMENT

“More stringent safety standards for junction boxes and increased currents from the newest generation of high-efficiency PV modules cannot be handled with conventional Schottky bypass diodes without significantly increasing the physical size of the junction box,” said Jörg Schmidt, director of sales for PV-Connecting Systems at Kostal Industrial Electronics. “TI’s SM74611 smart bypass diode enables us to easily increase the current rating of our line of SAMKO junction boxes from 10 A to 13 A without changing the physical design.”

Related: Power-One Announces New Open-Frame Products for Industrial and Medical Applications

The SM74611 joins TI’s family of solar products that include the UCD3138 digital power controller for solar micro-inverters, SM72441 maximum power point tracking controller and SM72295 full bridge driver. Reduced leakage current in both forward and reverse operation increases energy harvesting yield in PV arrays compared to traditional arrays using Schottky diodes.

The SM74611 smart bypass diode is available in volume now from TI and its authorized distributors. Offered in a two-terminal D2PAK package that measures 10.2 mm by 9 mm by 4.5 mm, the SM74611 is a drop-in replacement for conventional surface-mount Schottky diodes. It is priced at US$1.50 in 1,000-unit quantities.

Share this story

Send via E-mail
Post to Twitter

On the Web:

Texas Instruments Incorporated

ADVERTISEMENT

White Papers

March 11, 2013

Power Modules for Charger Applications

Sponsored by Vincotech

February 27, 2013

The Adaptive Cell Converter Topology Enables Constant Efficiency Over Universal Input AC Line in Front-End, High-Density Power Factor Correction Applications

Sponsored by Vicor Corp.

February 27, 2013

From 48 V direct to Intel VR12.0: Saving "Big Data" $500,000 per datacenter, per year

Sponsored by Vicor Corp.

More White Papers

Most Popular

Design Features

October 22, 2012

Energy Efficiency with Class D Amplifier Modules

Class-D switching amplifiers are helping audio designers create personal multimedia devices and home audio/visual systems that demonstrate how compact and stylish equipment can also deliver high sound quality and high audio output power. The key to this breakthrough, providing freedom from the large and bulky boxes housing traditional audio products, lies in the class-D amplifier’s high energy efficiency, which is typically around 90%. This allows designers to reduce or eliminate heatsinks as well as using smaller-sized PCBs and smaller components such as transformers, connectors and power supplies.

Read this paper

Design Features

October 8, 2012

The Role of Hall Effect Sensors in Power Distribution Infrastructure

Power distribution units (PDUs) form an essential part of modern computing and data communications hardware. They provide multiple outputs for transferring electrical power with maximum efficiency, controlling the power capacity and safeguarding against the possible causes of supply interruption. With an ever increasing need from tech savvy consumers for higher data throughput and greater quantities of data storage capacity, as well as tough international legislation now governing CO&sub2; emissions, the demands being placed on these units are proving challenging for engineering teams to satisfy.

Read this paper

Product Focus

August 13, 2012

The Year in AC-DC Power Supply Technology

The past year witnessed significant new product releases, technological developments, and industry news related to the field of AC-DC Power Supply technology.

Read this paper

Read More Technical Features

 

©2013 Darnell Group Inc.