| Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff |
| Same Pro Electron type Designation for Transistors from multiple Manufacturers |
| (1/1) |
| euzer:
I'm curious in when the same Pro Electron type designation (More specifically, the reuse of the 3 digit serial number) is used for transistors from multiple manufacturers. For example, many manufacturers offer a BC817 NPN transistor, and I'm wondering what the significance of this is. Could it be that one manufacturer is initially granted the type designation, and then others license the design and use equivalent processes and lithography stencils to fabricate a clone of the part, with hopefully similar characteristics. The design rights may expire after a period of time and it become public domain for anyone to produce. Another option is that secondary companies design a new device from the ground up to mimic the characteristics of an already allocated serial number. Alternatively a company has an existing device in its portfolio that has similar characteristics to an existing device, like a BC817, so just badges it as that and offers it to the market. |
| David Hess:
It is the second one; other companies produce an equivalent which meets the registered specifications. Which means if you design a circuit which relies on an unspecified behavior, using the same transistor from a different manufacturer may be problematical. This can also be a problem if the original manufacturer changes processes. |
| euzer:
Thanks for the response. Is there anyway or where to find out who the original sponsor with Pro Electron (or EECA) is for a specific type number, and also the registered data/specifications for that part? |
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