An electronic device having semiconductor components is manufactured, there is a chance of certain parts in the list of materials become obsolete and the product may run out of stock. So for this purpose we protect the supply chain by using a cross-reference list. The process of creating this cross-reference list is not as easy as we think. This list creation consumes a lot of time and money of an engineer because engineers have to thoroughly search and verify all the replacements.
Same is the case with semiconductor products. It is difficult to get information from packaging and difficult to compare as well. If we talk about MOSFETs, ‘IPAK’ on the package is labelled by ON semiconductor while the same package is labelled as ‘TO-251AA’ by Vishay and others. For an engineer it is easy to check the footprints of both of these packages and very easily judge that both are the same, but the rote comparisons were automated and the engineer simply had to do the final verification. As far as this article is concerned, we discuss the cross-reference method for MOSFETs and to generate the cross-reference list for MOSFETs from automated tools.
Technical Requirements for Cross-References of MOSFET
At the begining, parts have to be found in which the information about the datasheet is the same for MOSFET cross-references. Parts must have similar specifications i.e. mechanical and electrical provided the requirements about product is achieved. When we talk about mechanical specification, it is necessary that the same PCB footprints contain the devices. After that the measurements are compared manually in the datasheet. For two mechanically compatible products, the comparison is to be done on electrical parameters. Rated current, maximum drain to source voltage (Vds), maximum gate to source voltage (Vgs), drain to source resistance, Chanel type, power rating and parasitic capacitances values are the specifications which are compared for MOSFETs. After comparing all the above discussed values for any two products, cross-reference can be added in the possible replacements list. In the final product, electrical and thermal performance is tested for two components.Â
Automate MOSFET Cross-Referencing Process by using SourcingBot Cross-Reference Tool
The above process has been automated by the SourcingBot engineers so that cross-references for the bill of materials have been quickly checked by other engineers. All package names and each component electrical properties have been quickly compared. The process is really simple, part number is entered in the search tab that will route to the requested page. On this page both the list of recommended alternatives and the search part specifications are given. There is a match table in which specifications can be compared quickly for each component. Transparent points percentage are 100 which are ranked in the match table. After comparing the latest products of MOSFET manufactured by top manufacturers, cross-reference lists can be assembled efficiently and effectively by the engineers.
The bill of materials can be automatically cross-reference by using the SourcingBot website. To get started just upload the bill of material on sourcingbot.com/xref-tool. This is useful for checking replacements form the manufacturers given list. SourcingBot is also useful for calculating cross-reference of many other component categories like inductors, capacitors and resistors. Also calculate cross-reference for connector categories like circular connectors, FPC and FFC connectors, terminal blocks and much more.
