Semikron is a German-based independent manufacturer of power semiconductor components. The company was founded by in 1951 Dr. Friedrich Josef Martin in Nuremberg. In 2019, the company has a staff of more than 3,000 people in 25 subsidiaries with production sites in Germany, Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Slovakia and the USA. Semikron is a provider of integrated circuits, discrete semiconductors, transistor, diode and thyristor power modules, power assemblies and systems for markets such as industrial drives, wind and solar, hybrid and electric vehicles, the rail industry and power supplies. According to a survey carried out by BTM Consult ApS, the total wind power capacity installed until 2009 was 122 Gigawatt. Out of this, 57 Gigawatt comprises power semiconductors from Semikron. In the field of diode/thyristor modules, Semikron is the market leader with a 30% share of the worldwide market.
Products
Semikron’s product range consists of 11,600 different power semiconductors from 1 kW to 10 MW, including chips, discrete diodes/thyristors, power modules, driver and protection components and integrated subsystems. Amongst other developments Semikron invented the world's first isolated power module, the Semipack, of which 56 million are presently in use. Important innovations of the organization:
1981 SEMIPACK modules with fast thyristors and diodes. Introduction of glass passivation and square chips
1976 Disc-type thyristors for DC drives and AC converters
1974 SEMIPACK, the world’s first isolated thyristor/diode module, now an industrial standard in its 6th generation. Today, SEMIKRON is global market leader for diode/thyristor modules
1967 The first thyristors for variable-speed DC drives, 3-phase soft-start devices and 3-phase AC power controllers
1964 The world’s first 1A plastic diode for direct PCB assembly for use in radios and TV sets
1963 The first encapsulated bridge rectifier, a revolutionary plastic bridge that established itself across the entire electronics industry
1961 Development of the first avalanche rectifier diode in the world
1959 First silicon diode made of silicon wafers. At this time, the power range of 2.5 - 300 A was an astonishingly high value
1954 Start of SEMIKRON semiconductor manufacturing: selenium rectifier plates and selenium surge voltage protective devices
Applications
Today, 57 gigawatt wind capacity is powered by Semikron technology. 122 gigawatt is the total installed wind capacity since 1993. "Semikron inside" has become a trademark for new markets such as renewable energy sources and hybrid vehicles as well as industrial applications such as electric drives, welding machines, lifts, power supplies, pumps, conveyor belts, trains and trams.
