High-current eFuse with superior current limiting accuracy added to portfolio

Nexperia has released the NPS3102A and NPS3102B eFuses as the latest additions to its ever-expanding power device portfolio. These low-ohmic (17mOhm), high current (13.5A), resettable eFuses help to protect downstream loads from exposure to excessive voltages while protecting power supplies from load faults and large inrush currents. These eFuses have been designed for use in various 12V hot-swap applications, including enterprise communication and storage equipment in data centres such as SSDs and HD servers, Ethernet switches and routers. They can also be employed to protect mobile communications infrastructure like 5G radio-heads and industrial automation equipment like PLC.

The eFuses have a wide input voltage range (21V abs. max) and have an integrated low-resistance pass MOSFET, minimising voltage drop and power loss. This feature helps to improve operating efficiency beyond what is attainable from similar competing devices in the same package type. The current clamp limit can be adjusted in the 2–13.5A range utilising a resistor at the ILIM pin, which can also be used to measure load current in real-time. The devices include a built-in overvoltage clamp that limits the output voltage during an input overvoltage condition, with a 2μs short-circuit protection response time.

The pass-FET in the NPS3102A must be manually reset after a fault event, whereas the NPS3102B incorporates an auto-retry block, which safely attempts to re-enable the pass-FET without user intervention. Apart from having the ability to quickly protect systems against input and output overvoltages and large inrush currents, The company's eFuses are designed to protect the downstream loads from high current fault conditions, given its 10% current limiting accuracy. The eFuses are offered in DFN3030-10/SOT8037-1 leadless plastic packages measuring only 3mm x 3mm x 0.75mm.