How the hell do you get a hold of someone at ST for warranty?!!?

[jonnyGURU]

We were buying an ST boost diode from one distributor that would provide us with warranty. That distributor ran out of the part and the lead time for more is 12 to 16 weeks.

Digi-Key, Mouser and some other vendors have the item in stock and out of desperation we'll need to buy it from them. But when we contact these guys about warranty, they say "There's only a manufacturer's warranty. Contact ST."

So I go to ST's website to look for warranty information. I can't find jack. All I need is something like paragraph 5 here on ON Semi's site: http://www.onsemi.com/site/pdf/ONSEMI_T&C.pdf

So I look for contact information. There's no phone numbers or online chat. Just email. I email them asking about warranty and a week's gone by and I've received no response.

I'm getting desperate. I need these parts. Can anyone help me find a contact at ST or even a T&C PDF that has warranty information?

[Oklahoma Wolf]

There's a phone number here at their worldwide HQ: http://www.st.com/stonline/address/headquarters/index.htm

[jonnyGURU]

Shit... I have to call Switzerland to ask a question about warranty?!?!

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Unless you can track down one of those big Ricola alpenhorns to yell into, I can't find much alternative at their site :(

[cypherpunks]

http://www.st.com/stonline/company/termcond/.

But despite the useful-looking URL, that's not for buying from them.

All their product web pages reference the terms ans conditions:
Please Read Carefully:

Information in this document is provided solely in connection with ST products. STMicroelectronics NV and its subsidiaries ("ST") reserve the right to make changes, corrections, modifications or improvements, to this document, and the products and services described herein at any time, without notice. All ST products are sold pursuant to ST's terms and conditions of sale. Purchasers are solely responsible for the choice, selection and use of the ST products and services described herein, and ST assumes no liability whatsoever relating to the choice, selection or use of the ST products and services described herein. No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property rights is granted under this document. If any part of this document refers to any third party products or services it shall not be deemed a license grant by ST for the use of such third party products or services, or any intellectual property contained therein or considered as a warranty covering the use in any manner whatsoever of such third party products or services or any intellectual property contained therein.

UNLESS OTHERWISE SET FORTH IN ST'S TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE ST DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY WITH RESPECT TO THE USE AND/OR SALE OF ST PRODUCTS INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE (AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY JURISDICTION), OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANY PATENT, COPYRIGHT OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT. UNLESS EXPRESSLY APPROVED IN WRITING BY AN AUTHORIZED ST REPRESENTATIVE, ST PRODUCTS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED, AUTHORIZED OR WARRANTED FOR USE IN MILITARY, AIR CRAFT, SPACE, LIFE SAVING, OR LIFE SUSTAINING APPLICATIONS, NOR IN PRODUCTS OR SYSTEMS WHERE FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION MAY RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, OR SEVERE PROPERTY OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. ST PRODUCTS WHICH ARE NOT SPECIFIED AS "AUTOMOTIVE GRADE" MAY ONLY BE USED IN AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS AT USER'S OWN RISK.

But they don't seem to provide a link. Still, a local sales office (http://www.st.com/stonline/address/offices/amer_list.htm) should be able to provide one.

[jonnyGURU]

Yeah. I saw that too. It's like the "terms and conditions" of using their website.

I'm going to call the local sales office and see what they say.

[jonnyGURU]

Ok. These guys are freaking me out. I just called three of the closest sales offices and got the same thing...

If I know my party's extension, I may dial it now. Otherwise, I can leave a message in the general mailbox. Not even an option for an operator.

Wow... These guys must have more business than they know what to do with. Anyone know a good substitute for an ST STTH1506 boost diode? :(

[cypherpunks]

Ok. These guys are freaking me out. I just called three of the closest sales offices and got the same thing...

If I know my party's extension, I may dial it now. Otherwise, I can leave a message in the general mailbox. Not even an option for an operator.

Oh, D'oh... I should have thought of that. Local sales guys are often out of the office visiting customers while making calls on their cell phones. The office proper can be empty for much of the day.

Anyone know a good substitute for an ST STTH1506 boost diode? :(

Wow, 16 ns t_rr... that's pretty impressive. Oh, typical. 35 ns max. That's more plausible. And WTF is a DOP3 package? Do you need that exact package?

The Fairchild "Stealth II" series looks promising. What do you think of the FFP15S60 (http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/FF%2FFFP15S60S.pdf)/FFH15S60 (http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/FF%2FFFH15S60S.pdf)?

It's not quite the same package, but the lead spacing (11 mm) looks compatible.

Further away, and from a supplier I've had lead time problems with, Vishay's 15ETH06 (http://www.vishay.com/doc?93005) and 15ETX06 (http://dkc3.digikey.com/US/images/datasheet.gif) are fairly close, but the Q_rr at 200 A/µs switching speed is vastly higher.

FWIW, Diodes, Inc. and ON Semi don't make anything with comparable ratings.

[jonnyGURU]

Cool. Thanks. I'll check with the engineers.

[jonnyGURU]

No dice.

At 35ns, the Trr is too slow on the Fairchild part.

Damn ST. Got me by the balls on this one. :(

I've yet to receive a reply back to my voice mails or emails to ST.

[cypherpunks]

No dice.

At 35ns, the Trr is too slow on the Fairchild part.

Damn ST. Got me by the balls on this one. :(

Um, you realize that the STTH1506 also has a 35 ns Trr, right? At least that's the guaranteed spec. (Third table on page 2 of data sheet, "Recovery characteristics".) Both are Tj = 25°C, If = 1A and Vr = 30V. The only difference is that the ST part is specified at dIf/dt = −50A/μs, while the Fairchild is the easier-to-meet −100A/μs.

But yeah, Fairchild's Fig 4. shows that their Trr is typically 55 ns or more at 125°C, while ST (Fig. 5) can go below 40 ns (with 90% confidence!) at high enough dI/dt.

You're right that it's a tough spec; I had to hunt to find anything close to as fast. Sorry I couldn't do better.

I've yet to receive a reply back to my voice mails or emails to ST.

Now that is truly impressively bad.

[jonnyGURU]

Hmm... I'm sure I have the right part number, but I've got a Trr of 16ns for the ST.

[cypherpunks]

Hmm... I'm sure I have the right part number, but I've got a Trr of 16ns for the ST.

Oh, that's the "typical" number quoted on the data sheet (http://www.st.com/stonline/books/pdf/docs/8768.pdf) for the reverse current to drop to Irr = 0.25 A from an initial Ir = 1 A, if you start with a forward current of If = 0.5 A.

I've never seen those conditions quoted anywhere else, so I don't know how valid a test that is.