Smart eFuse Protects Mission-Critical Servers and Other High-Rel Apps
The AOZ17517QI series 60-A eFuse from Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (AOS), housed in a compact 5- x 5-mm QFN package, is optimized for use in 12-V power rails in servers, data centers, and telecom infrastructure. In addition to basic protection against abnormal load and other fault conditions, these devices offer advanced features that enhance safety and reliability.
The new eFuses use AOS’s co-packaging technology to integrate a high safe-operating-area (SOA) trench MOSFET and an IC that supports accurate analog current and voltage monitoring. Intelligent protection features include:
- Programmable overcurrent protection
- Short-circuit protection
- Undervoltage lockout and overvoltage clamp
- Thermal shutdown protection
- Programmable soft-start and startup SOA management
The AOZ17517QI series’ MOSFET offers low RDS(on) (0.65 mΩ) that isolates the load from the input bus when the eFuse is off. The devices are designed to integrate accurate analog current and voltage monitoring signals. They also allow designers to use multiple eFuse devices in parallel for higher current applications, enabling multiple devices to operate concurrently and seamlessly distribute the current during the startup phase.
The AOZ17517QI-01 supports auto-restart fault recovery, while the AOZ17517QI-02 is configured to latch off and must be externally reset after detecting a fault. The unit price for the AOZ17517QI starts at $1.80 in 1,000-unit quantities. Both devices are immediately available in production quantities with a lead time of 14 weeks.
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About the Author
Lee Goldberg
Contributing Editor
Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.
Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.
Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.
Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.
Lee also writes the regular PowerBites series.