Press Release, 12 September 2025
The Moment When Your Car’s Hidden Heart Got Smarter
Picture this: every time you turn on your infotainment screen, adjust interior lights, or switch on a mirror heater, invisible power components spring into action. They’re small. They’re silent. They are MOSFETs. Nexperia’s latest launch of 40-100V automotive MLPAK MOSFETs in micro-lead packages (MLPAK33-WF, MLPAK56-WF) is about making those tiny heartbeats of your car smarter, safer, and more efficient. This may feel like a small tweak—but it’s a leap for automotive electronics.
Why This Matters: The Human, the Industry & the Innovation
Automotive electronics are exploding. The industry is shifting:
- From multiple ECUs (electronic control units) to domain or zonal architectures where a single control unit handles many functions.
- Increasing demand for richer infotainment, lighting effects, and smart features inside cars.
- Stricter requirements for reliability, safety, and manufacturability (e.g. inspection of solder joints).
Nexperia’s new MLPAK MOSFET portfolio steps right into this shift, offering options designed for body control, infotainment, LED lighting, and reverse battery protection, with packages that support AOI (automatic optical inspection) and reliable solder joint inspections thanks to wettable flanks
Meet the New MLPAK MOSFETs: What Sets Them Apart
Here are the standouts in this new product line:
- Voltage range: 40-100 V. That gives designers flexibility for lighting, body, infotainment and protection circuits.
- Package styles: MLPAK33-WF and MLPAK56-WF. Both include wettable flanks for better solder-joint inspectability and AOI compatibility. That helps in mass production, quality assurance.
- Rugged performance: The devices are built to handle switching spiking, reduce ringing, high avalanche ratings (so less need for heavy auxiliary protection like snubbers).
- Standard footprints: This helps engineers migrate designs between different MOSFET variants without redoing board layouts. Less redesign, faster time-to-market.
What It Means for Drivers & Automakers
For Automakers & Engineers
- Reduced cost and complexity: With standardised MLPAK footprints and more robust tolerance, they can build electronics modules cheaper, smaller, reliably.
- Better quality control: Wettable flanks enable better solder joint inspection using optical tools—fewer misses, more safety.
- Scalability: Whether for luxury infotainment or basic lighting or even protection circuits, these MOSFETs can fit multiple purposes.
For Drivers & Users
- Enhanced reliability: Features like reverse battery protection and better switching behavior mean fewer surprises—less chance your electronics misbehave in harsh conditions.
- More advanced features: More reliable power electronics mean automakers can confidently add more sophisticated lighting or infotainment features.
- Possibly lower costs (over time): Efficient electronics and simplified architectures can help bring down manufacturing costs, which can translate into savings.
