Diotec Semiconductor AG

https://www.diotec.com

Aug 26, 2026

When the Right Device Doesn’t Fit the Board: Diotec’s Approach to Mechanical Customisation

In power electronics design, selecting the right semiconductor is rarely just an electrical decision. A device may meet the required voltage, current, switching and thermal specifications, yet still create a problem when it reaches the PCB layout.The package may be too tall for the enclosure. An axial component may have leads that exit in the wrong direction. Lead spacing may not match the established footprint, or the required mounting orientation may be incompatible with the standard catalogue version.These challenges often appear late in the design process - after the schematic has been approved and the PCB layout is already taking shape. At that point, changing the semiconductor can mean compromising electrical performance, restarting qualification, or redesigning the board.

Semiconductor design meets mechanical requirements

For engineers and technical buyers, the challenge is therefore not simply finding an electrically suitable component. It is finding a component that can integrate into the complete system.

This is where Diotec takes a different approach.

As a manufacturer of discrete semiconductors, Diotec combines semiconductor development, chip design and packaging expertise with in-house production capabilities. This allows the company to address mechanical requirements as part of the component solution rather than treating them as an afterthought.

Lead angles, lead lengths, formed shoulders for defined hole clearances and alternative mounting orientations can all be adapted for specific applications. For example, a component supplied in a horizontal package configuration can be manufactured for vertical mounting where the PCB or enclosure requires it.

Protecting the qualified component

Mechanical constraints should not necessarily force engineers to replace a device that has already been selected and qualified for its electrical characteristics.

With Diotec, the approach can instead be to adapt the component to the existing board design.

This can be particularly relevant in applications where qualification, reliability and long-term availability are critical. Rather than redesigning the circuit around the mechanical limitations of a standard catalogue component, Diotec can work with customers to develop a package or lead configuration that fits the application.

With more than 50 years of experience in discrete semiconductor manufacturing, Diotec brings this capability together under one roof - from chip technology and semiconductor production through to packaging and mechanical customisation.

A component designed for the application

For engineers, this means greater flexibility when electrical and mechanical requirements intersect. For technical buyers, it means the opportunity to source a semiconductor solution that is not limited to a standard catalogue configuration.

The objective is straightforward: the device should fit the application - not force the application to fit the device.

Diotec’s in-house manufacturing and customisation capabilities give designers another option when the electrically ideal component does not quite fit the board.