industry news
Subscribe Now

Microsemi Introduces Industry’s Smallest Hermetic Surface Mount Package for Transistors and Diodes

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.—Oct. 6, 2011—Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, today introduced the industry’s smallest hermetic surface mount package for power transistors and diodes. Microsemi pioneered the development of the new industry-standard U4 package, which has achieved Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) qualification for a range of products. The devices assembled as vehicles for this package qualification included medium power NPN and PNP bipolar transistors. Microsemi will also pursue qualifications for additional device types to support customer-specific requirements.

The compact U4 is 70 percent smaller than its U3 predecessor and available now exclusively from Microsemi. The package is constructed with aluminum nitride ceramic, which provides excellent heat dissipation. This is particularly important for small products such as power supplies, converters and regulators which operate at high current rates that can cause overheating issues.

“Microsemi created the hermetic U4 package to provide defense contractors with a rugged surface mount packaging solution for space-constrained products used in military environments,” said Simon Wainwright, vice president of Marketing and Business Development for Microsemi’s HiRel Group. “We have been serving the defense sector for more than 50 years, and will continue to build on our track record of innovating solutions for applications where exceptional performance and reliability are vital.”

The U4 has a typical power rating of 5W-15W (@ TC=25C) and is the smallest, hermetic surface mount package in its power category. Packaged parts are compatible with current pick-and-place assembly processes and are offered in tape-and-reel format.

About Microsemi

Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor solutions for: aerospace, defense and security; enterprise and communications; and industrial and alternative energy markets. Products include high-performance, high-reliability analog and RF devices, mixed-signal and RF integrated circuits, customizable SoCs, FPGAs, and complete subsystems. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and has more than 2,700 employees globally. Learn more atwww.microsemi.com.

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Apr 24, 2026
A thought experiment in curiosity, confusion, and cosmic consequences....

featured paper

Quickly and accurately identify inter-domain leakage issues in IC designs

Sponsored by Siemens Digital Industries Software

Power domain leakage is a major IC reliability issue, often missed by traditional tools. This white paper describes challenges of identifying leakage, types of false results, and presents Siemens EDA’s Insight Analyzer. The tool proactively finds true leakage paths, filters out false positives, and helps circuit designers quickly fix risks—enabling more robust, reliable chip designs. With detailed, context-aware analysis, designers save time and improve silicon quality.

Click to read more

featured chalk talk

GaN for Humanoid Robots
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Infineon
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Eric Persson and Amelia Dalton explore why power is the key driver for efficient and reliable robot movements and how GaN technologies can help motor control solutions be more compact, integrated and efficient. They also investigate the role of field-oriented control in humanoid robotic applications and why the choice of a GaN power transistor can make all the difference in your next humanoid robot project!
Apr 20, 2026
10,166 views