News Article
Infineon CoolMOS Earns European SEMI Award
The Infineon CoolMOS team consisting of Dr. Franz Auerbach, Dr. Gerald Deboy, Dr. Hans Weber and Dr. Reinhard Ploss, received the European SEMI Award 2012.
CoolMOS technology is capable of blocking voltages of several hundred volts, whilst simultaneously switching currents up to a hundred amperes.
CoolMOS is used in power supplies and enables efficient energy usage for a wide range of applications. The award was presented during the SEMICON Europa Executive Summit in Dresden last week.
It can be used in a number of applications. These include switched-mode power supplies used in servers, telecommunications notebook adapters and electronic lamp ballasts.
The market for its potential applications is rapidly growing and a key enabler for strategic semiconductor and system technology. The basic principle was described at the end of the eighties by Jenö Tihanyi, one of Infineon's first fellows.
The idea was brilliant but also challenging with realisation of the concept being very difficult at the outset.
But belief in the product was stronger than any resistance. In March 1997 it was demonstrated that the idea could be implemented in silicon. At the end of 1998 Infineon achieved a breakthrough in the yield.
Today CoolMOS is one of Infineon's most successful products, in volume for power applications and in terms of revenue.
The European SEMI Award was established more than two decades ago to recognise individuals and teams who made a significant contribution to the European semiconductor and related industries.
