Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. today announced that its massive electro-pyrotechnic ignitor chip (MEPIC) resistor has been chosen as a 2014 ECN Impact Awards finalist. The awards program, sponsored by ECN Magazine, recognizes the top products and services across 18 categories spanning the design and engineering landscape.
In the category of "Power Sources and Conditioning," the Vishay Sfernice MEPIC was selected for its precise performance in electro-pyrotechnic applications and innovative, cost-saving design.
The MEPIC converts electrical energy into heat energy in a precise electro-thermal profile for the purpose of initiating a series of pyrotechnic events in a controlled energetic reaction. Typical applications for the device include the ignition of electric or electronic detonators in mining and tunneling, airbags and seatbelt pretensioners, fireworks displays, and other civil applications.
The resistor incorporates an extremely fine manufacturing process and Automatic Optical Inspection to provide a very predictable and reproducible thermal exchange from its heating area to the pyrotechnic material or its own substrate. This results in increased safety in the field and reliability in no-explosion situations, more accurate synchronization of explosions in digital blasting, and the optimization of applied energy.
Built on a well-established technology used in the automotive industry, the innovation of the MEPIC consists in the construction of a wraparound chip resistor (or surface-mount device) on an epoxy-based substrate. This creates new opportunities for cost savings in electro-pyrotechnic applications by allowing them to be implemented through a standard electronic component assembly process.
The full list of Impact Awards finalists will be published in the April issue of ECN. Winners will be announced at a cocktail reception on May 6 at EDS 2014 in Las Vegas.
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., a Fortune 1000 Company listed on the NYSE (VSH), is one of the world's largest manufacturers of discrete semiconductors (diodes, MOSFETs, and infrared optoelectronics) and passive electronic components (resistors, inductors, and capacitors). These components are used in virtually all types of electronic devices and equipment, in the industrial, computing, automotive, consumer, telecommunications, military, aerospace, power supplies, and medical markets. Vishay's product innovations, successful acquisition strategy, and "one-stop shop" service have made it a global industry leader. Vishay can be found on the Internet at www.vishay.com.
Source: http://www.vishay.com/