Fast Acting Fuses for the Protection of Semiconductors

Co-ordination of semiconductors and high speed fuses with respect to surge ratings has been a relatively simple matter because of ample safety factors present in the published data. This has resulted in considerable difficulty in obtaining full semiconductor utilization, because the fuses so chosen tend to limit the maximum continuous semiconductor current. Since the semiconductor industry trend is towards higher continuous current ratings with the same published surge ratings, a closer evaluation of all aspects relating to fuse and semiconductor surge ratings is necessary to permit full use of the semiconductor´s maximum continuous current.