Alternative to HVCA/CKE (Dean Technology) High-Voltage Rectifier Diodes -Both axial lead and SMD type

 
Electronic engineers worldwide often find that many high-end medical devices and high-voltage electrostatic equipment use HVCA-branded high-voltage diodes. This is a high-voltage component brand with over 40 years of history, based in Texas, the United States. The company is named after its CEO, Craig Dean, known as Dean Technology in English. 
 
Relying on its self-operated and robust international distribution network, HVCA has gained high visibility in the global market. However, HVCA has only a branch in Taiwan, China, in the Asia-Pacific region, but the problem is HVCA diode are priced high, prompting many users to seek reliable  alternatives to HVCA/CKE high-voltage rectifier diodes. 


(HVCA/CKE high-voltage diodes are well-known in the high-voltage equipment industry)
 
Since 2020, HVC has established a dedicated product line to customize models that replace the full range of HVCA products, in response to demands from customers in high-voltage power supplies, X-ray machines, and high-voltage electrostatic equipment. These alternatives closely match HVCA diodes in lead diameter and body size.
 
In 2022, HVC expanded its HVCA/CKE replacements to include surface-mount high-voltage diodes (such as HVCA's surface-mount model SP5LG 5KV 270MA). In 2024, HVC even launched replacements for HVCA's high-voltage ceramic capacitor series. 


Below, we elaborate on the background of HVCA/CKE high-voltage diodes from market and technical perspectives, helping engineers make rational decisions during product selection or domestic substitution.
 
HVCA is not a top-tier international brand. The U.S.-based diode company acquired a diode factory in Northeast China to produce some medium and low-voltage diodes. In 2018, it formed a joint venture with a Taiwanese wafer foundry to manufacture diodes. As is widely known, Taiwanese factories excel in consumer-grade diodes rather than high-end high-voltage diodes for medical applications like X-ray machines. Thus, HVCA can be regarded as a U.S.-funded brand with products OEMed by factories in mainland China and Taiwan.
 
Since 2020, HVC has set up a specialized product line to replace well-known U.S.-funded high-voltage diodes, including HVCA (DEAN TECHNOLOGY), VMI (Voltage Multiplier Inc), and EDI (Electronic Device Inc). Among these, HVCA's most famous model is UX-FOB. After over a year of successful trials by numerous end customers, HVC's HVD-SL513G has been confirmed as a perfect substitute for HVCA's UX-FOB. It outperforms other HVCA alternatives in terms of high-voltage margin and fast recovery parameters. Practical applications by many end customers have proven that HVC's high-voltage diodes are fully compatible with HVCA's in overall performance.
 
HVCA boasts an efficient, strongly controlled self-built agent network covering Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. It also has highly loyal agents in the UK and France. Through the efforts of local agents, HVCA has gradually gained significant visibility in major medical device companies and on the PCBs of CT/X-ray machines.
 
The voltage doubler circuits in high-voltage power supplies consist of high-voltage capacitors and high-voltage rectifier diodes. This is a highly niche market with small capacity, long cycles, and high technical barriers. For global giants like ONSEMI, MURATA, VISHAY, and TI, the return on investment in this market is relatively low. Consequently, HVCA, though not prominent, has seized the opportunity to expand its presence.
 
Medical X-ray machines, high-voltage power supplies, and CT scanners are high-tech, high-barrier medical equipment. Understandably, domestic electronic engineers disassemble and analyze foreign prototypes for reverse engineering. However, there is no need to overvalue U.S.-branded OEM products like HVCA, as China's high-voltage diode production technology has basically reached the same level as that of the United States and Japan. In other words, HVCA's technical level is roughly equivalent to HVC's high-voltage diodes.
 
Furthermore, amid recent geopolitical competition, the Biden administration has imposed embargoes on China regarding chips and high-end electronic components. Some politically biased merchants have also followed the U.S. government's lead, adopting a cautious attitude toward trade with China. This is evident from HVCA's lack of formal authorized agents in the Chinese market, causing inconvenience for domestic electronic engineers seeking to purchase HVCA diodes for imported equipment circuit boards. Therefore, finding suitable HVCA alternatives and procuring them locally has become extremely necessary.
 
HVC has established three agents in North China (Dalian), East China (Suzhou), and South China (Shenzhen). Domestic replacements for HVCA diodes can be purchased locally, with in-person technical consulting services available to a certain extent.
 
HVC's high-voltage ceramics and high-voltage diodes are also adopted by many foreign medical device manufacturers. Through multiple direct competitions with HVCA diodes, we have learned that HVCA primarily operates through local agents. Due to multiple layers of markup, the quotation for ordinary high-voltage diode models is often around three times that of HVC's alternatives. Without absolute technical advantages, choosing HVC rectifier diodes as substitutes is obviously a more sensible decision.
 
The main electrical performance characteristics of HVC's high-voltage diode series are summarized below:
1/ Low leakage current, high surge capacity, and strong resistance to current impact
2/ High reverse voltage, low forward current, and avalanche breakdown protection
3/ Fast response speed, high efficiency, and ultra-fast recovery time
4/ High heat resistance, with a PN junction temperature of up to 175℃, enabling replacement of certain glass-encapsulated diode products
 
The following details HVC's high-voltage diodes as replacements for HVCA/CKE (DEAN TECHNOLOGY) high-voltage diodes. Most HVCA/CKE high-voltage diodes and high-voltage silicon stacks have corresponding HVC products: