Diotec Semiconductor introduces protection diode array for safe data communication upon lightning strikes.
During hot summer weeks, thunderstorms with lightning strikes pose a considerable danger. In the worst case they cause fire accidents; a bit less severe but anyway critical is the damage of electronic devices. Domestic Ethernet routers are regularly demolished after such events. This is not only annoying and time-consuming to get replacements but also causes unnecessary electronic waste. The protection diode array ESDALC208 contains eight ESD protection diodes, each two of them connected in series. It protects four data lines against excessive voltage caused by electrostatic discharge (ESD), e.g., during wiring. Overcurrents caused by lightning or electric fast transients (EFT) are steered to either a positive or negative reference voltage, limiting the overvoltage to the maximum value. Only two of these parts are sufficient to protect an eight-wire Ethernet line and its interfaces. The low junction capacitance of each diode of only 7 pF at 1 MHz allows for high data transmission rates.
Key applications
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