Welcome, Today We “Understanding MOSFET Data Sheets” blog, Today I’ll be talking about MOSFET Continuous Drain Current Silicon Limited and Package Limited and how to read datasheet. Ok, so maybe a better way to put it is just that they are not measured the way that parameters like RDS(ON) and gate charge are determined, but rather, they are calculated and can be arrived at in many different ways. That if you are more of a visual learner, you can watch the video in YouTube “Electrical Learner Understanding MOSFET data sheets – current ratings”.
Understanding MOSFET data sheets, Continuous Drain Current, VGS @ 10V (Silicon Limited) and Continuous Drain Current, VGS @ 10V (Package Limited). What does it mean by “package limited” or “silicon limited“?
For instance the “package current rating” of the MOSFET of the most part independent of ambient temperature and is a function of the internal connections between the silicon die and the plastic package. Exceeding this value does not immediately guarantee that the MOSFET will die, so much as prolonged use above this limit will begin to reduce the lifetime of the MOSFET. This includes but is not limited to problems caused by wire fusion, thermal degradation of molding compounds, and electromigration stress above this limit.
