Consumer applications of power semiconductors

Power semiconductors--transistors, thyristors, and rectifiers --all have found widespread application in the three major consumer markets --automotive, entertainment, appliance. These devices have been developed to provide low-cost solutions to existing needs. In the mid-1950's, the germanium power transistor, as used in hybrid auto radio sets, was the sole power semiconductor represented in a consumer application. It was soon joined by rectifiers designed for power supply use in line operated television sets. Near the turn of the decade, the development of press-fit alternator rectifiers created a completely new consumer use. Today these devices in only slightly modified form are used for the original application as well as a host of allied uses. Recently, power thyristors expressly designed for appliance controls have opened up entirely new concepts in this market area. Upwards of 200 million [1] power semiconductors are used in consumer applications each year. As technology progresses, indications are that this market will more than double in the next few years as TRIAC [2], [3] and QUADRAC open new appliance markets, as high-voltage power transistors phase into television, and as alternator regulators switch to large area integrated circuitry. Whether the market is automotive, appliance, or entertainment, and whether the application is audio, phase control, or switching, the penetration of power semiconductors into consumer use has followed a history of applying advanced device technology directly to a market opportunity. The successes have always been the result of providing lower costs, a better way, or in adding value to the consumer product. This paper will discuss the features of consumer power devices and their applications that make them different from their predecessors.