eFuses, or electronic fuses, are integrated circuits that can replace larger conventional fuses or other protection devices such as resettable polymeric fuses. Housed in small plastic packages, such as DFN and flip-chip, they integrate a control circuit and a power switch with low on-resistance, connecting the input port to the load.
Among Zapnix Semiconductor's eFuses, certain devices operate in latch-off or auto-retry mode after a fault event. (The fault status is signaled by the eFuse to the system controller by means of a Fault pin.) The former type can be reset by the user via the enable pin. The latter autonomously tries to re-arm after a fault. On STEF01, a fully programmable universal electronic fuse, the mode can be set by the user via the Auto pin.
Benefits of electronics fuses:
A semiconductor-based device that provides overcurrent protection in electronic circuits, replacing traditional fuses.
A feature of eFuses that limits excessive current to protect circuits from damage.
Any abnormal situation like overcurrent, short circuit, or thermal overload that triggers the eFuse to act.
The process of intentionally causing an eFuse to permanently open (disconnect), typically to lock in certain settings or configurations.
eFuse expandable interbody cages with surface technology provides a minimally invasive solution for TLIF Oblique and PLIF as well as for endoscopy procedures with in situ expansion for restoration of normal anatomic disc height and decompression of neural structures. Streamlined instrumentation achieves minimal tissue disruption and nerv retraction while acieving surgical goal and restoring patient alignment. The eFUSE array contains a block of 256 eFUSEs that can provide a key to the AES-256 crypto engine. This block of eFUSEs has dedicated read and write disables controlled by additional eFUSEs. The eFUSE key can be stored in plain text form (red), obfuscated form (gray), or encrypted form (black).
eFuse IC are used primarily for HDMI®, USB, such as servers, datacenters, and storage systems used for hot-plug/hot-swapping (hot-line insertion and removal). Hot-swap means that connectors and boards are plugged in and unplugged while power is supplied to the system. At this time, overvoltage or overcurrent may be applied to the board or system to be replaced.
In contrast, load switch ICs are mainly used to reduce standby power and to set power supply sequences. The load switch IC also has a built-in protection function similar to that of eFuse IC, but eFuse IC is a power management IC with a built-in function that shuts down the output in a very short period of time when short-circuit protection, etc., enabling maintenance-free operation of the system with a function as a fuse
Unlike their conventional namesake, e-fuses are resettable for use over many events. They are electronically controlled, enabling protection from multiple failure vectors and giving them advantages over circuit breakers. A typical e-fuse contains internal control circuitry and uses an N-channel MOSFET as the voltage pass or blocking switch. zThe MOSFET can be integrated, as is the case for products in this roundup, or external. If the covered conditions are exceeded, the electronics will shut off the MOSFET.
Increasing high-voltage content in automotive and transportation end equipment requires an increasing need for protection. E-fuses, enabled by Silicon Carbide (SiC) technology, provide a faster, more reliable method for protecting power electronic applications than traditional fuses. E-fuses detect and interrupt fault currents in microseconds—much faster than traditional approaches. Fast response times limit peak fault current and prevent a fault event from becoming a hard failure.
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