The reason seems clear enough to me: Operating currents are soon expected to double at lower voltages in more portable power tasks. In line with that trend, more hardy midlevel stages and drivers are needed in tighter spots. Industry's stepped-up approach recognizes that boosting overall efficiency and performance in smaller discretes for next-generation cellular, PDA and traditional PC server applications is a requirement, not a luxury. The multiple launches show how fiercely competitive the MOSFET arena has become.

With power management at the forefront, Intersil is about to release its DenseTrench series of PDA MOSFETs. Through increased channel density, the technology is said to lower the silicon's specific resistance. The process will be tunable for various characteristics and thus can be optimized for a range of applications, Intersil says.

While delivering more power at 2 volts and below is a major driving force, ultimately the manufacturers must also get around to maximizing the power/size ratio. In that arena, Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. will address space-constrained environments with new surface-mount technologies for advanced notebooks. The keys to success involve new ways of handling thermal performance in miniature surface-mount packages.

The power game extends even to small-signal applications. There, truly small devices stand out. Vishay Siliconix, for example, has just packaged five devices in three- and six-pin SC70s, which are fast becoming the packages of choice.

Vishay's low-threshold, small-signal p- and n-channel devices for load switching and driver applications are intended for cell phone and PDA applications, as well as other battery-operated systems. They're also suitable for display drivers and memories.

International Rectifier, meanwhile, is set to launch a MOSFET series as part of the second phase of its so-called dc/dc road map campaign.

That's quite a lot of action in MOSFETs for just a month, and the year's not over by a long shot.