Solid-state relay shows silicon can also be sensitive

For instrumentation- and transducer-interface applications, the PVN013 and PVG613 microelectronic solid-state relays from International Rectifier feature leakage current of just 10 nA and 3- to 5-mA actuation current (Picture). Due to their low drive requirements, you can control these relays directly from TTL or CMOS outputs without using open-collector or buffer stages. The PVN013 switches as much as 4.5A for dc and 2.5A for ac/dc at voltage as high as 20V; the PVG613 handles 2A for dc and 1A for ac/dc at voltages as high as 60V. The solid-state units feature on-resistance of 40 or 150 mΩ, respectively, and this resistance does not increase with use. Estimated lifetime for these six-pin DIP relays is 10 billion operations. They cost $3.79 (10,000).

International Rectifier Corp, 1-310-322-3331, www.irf.com.