World's first reverse conducting thyristor for use in two wheeled vehicles

The CRD5CM integrates a thyristor and a rectifier diode in a single element and is suitable for vehicles such as e-bikes, where demand for compact size and low price is particularly strong. Renesas expects the market for such vehicles is expected to grow in Europe. The TO-220 package of the CRD5CM is the same as that used for previous thyristor (single element) products which, according to Renesas, means the mounting area can be reduced by about 50%. Integrated into a single package, both thyristor and diode employ Renesas' planar structure, designed to achieve a rated current of 5A, and a surge on current of 80 (50Hz). This enables them to handle surge current during switching. The thyristor achieves a rated voltage of 400V. To address the fact that regulators of two wheeled vehicles require rectifier diodes with soft reverse recovery characteristics, the diode of the CRD5CM has soft turn off characteristics, with a reverse recovery time designed to limit voltage surges during commutation. The thermal resistance of the CRD5CM with TO-220 package is 2.8^°C/W and operation is guaranteed up to 150^°C, allowing a smaller cooling fan in the system. According to Renesas, the new CRD5CM reverse conducting thyristor uses the same package as a standard thyristor, making it possible to design regulators that are more compact and less costly. Sample shipments will begin in February 2010.