Number 2 February 1998

Editorial Notes PROTECTION - Data Line Protection - Innovative ASD Diode Array to Protect Set-Top Box Sensitive Lines - EMI Filter for Cellular Phones - Surface Mounting Lightning Protection THYRISTORS - Let There Be Light: Electronic Fluorescent Starter - Fire Lighter Circuits - Thyristors in Surface Mount Packages - SCRs and TRIACS: The Leadership and the Range RECTIFIERS - High Temperature 100V Schottky Diodes - The Ultrafast 300V Diode Advantage - Low Drop Power Schottky Diodes Optimize SMPS Efficiency - New Damper Diodes for Medium and High End Monitors

Dear Reader, SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics is a major player in the discretes market, offering a wide range of products in each of its main families: Application Specific Discretes (ASD™), thyristors, protection, and rectifiers. With ST's unique and proprietary ASD technology both sides of the wafer are processed in order to combine several single active or passive components on the same chip. Significant savings in costs and board area are achieved by replacing numerous discrete components by a single compact package. SCRs and Triacs are a challenging sector where ST aims to consolidate its confirmed market leadership. Innovative surface mount versions feature high performances in commutation, associated with good gate drive capability. With technological leadership in protection, ST offers a wide range of standard overvoltage protection diodes in both axial and surface mount versions (Transils™/ Trisils™). Innovative solutions for fast growing markets include applications in cellular phones and digital networks in the telecommunications area, Univeral Serial Bus and high speed datalines in the computer and set-top box fields. Significant efforts and investment in R&D have enabled ST to complete its offering in power Schottky and ultrafast rectifiers. The Company is able to provide products with high performance levels such as low voltage drop for power Schottky diodes and high recovery performance for ultra-fast bipolar diodes. The recent introduction of ST's high temperature 100V Schottky and the 300V new generation of ultrafast places ST at the cutting edge in this field. Sustained leadership in today's fast moving markets requires world-class engineering expertise that is market driven. In close partnership with a global customer base, ST is working to increase the levels of integration on monolithic structures so as to offer solutions to the most complex requirements.