ESD device protects mobile devices

ON Semiconductor has integrated ultra-low capacitance pin diodes with high-power TVS diodes into a monolithic die that can be used as a high-performance off chip ESD protection solution.

ON Semiconductor's ESD9L is a single-line ESD protection device that offers 0.5pF capacitance and a low clamping voltage.

Available in the industry's smallest package for ESD protection, this part is ideal for safeguarding high speed data lines in portable applications such as mobile phones, MP3 players, PDAs and digital cameras.

New generations of portable products are increasingly sensitive to damage from ESD voltage as newer integrated circuit (IC) technologies employ smaller geometries and lower working voltages.

At the same time, portable electronics systems are requiring lower capacitance in order to maintain the signal integrity of their high-speed data line applications.

Traditional off-chip protection solutions based on silicon TVS diodes offer low ESD clamping voltage and fast response time, but their high capacitance limits their use in high-speed applications.

Competing off-chip protection technologies such as polymer and ceramic-based varistors offer low capacitance, but their high ESD clamping voltage limits their ability to protect the most sensitive ICs from ESD damage.

"Designers of portable equipment are challenged to find an off-chip ESD protection solution that combines low capacitance and low ESD clamping voltage in a package small enough to fit in today's ever-shrinking portable electronic applications", said Lon Robinson, ON Semiconductor Technical Marketing Manager for ESD protection products.

"ON Semiconductor has answered this challenge with the new ESD9L family of ESD protection diodes for high-speed data lines".

In order to overcome the limitations of traditional silicon TVS diodes, ON Semiconductor has integrated ultra-low capacitance pin diodes with high-power TVS diodes into a monolithic die that can be used as a high-performance off chip ESD protection solution.

This integrated ESD protection technology platform preserves the excellent clamping and low leakage performance of traditional silicon TVS diode technology while reducing the capacitance from 50 to 0.5pF.

The total capacitance of 0.5 pF makes the ESD9L suitable for high-speed applications such as USB2.0 high speed (480Mbit/s) and HDMI (1.65Gbit/s).

The ESD9L clamps an input ESD waveform of 15kV to less than 7V in a matter of nanoseconds.

It has a small die size enabling it to fit in a SOD-923 package measuring 1.0 x 0.6 x 0.4 mm.

It is suitable for high-speed applications in space-constrained products such as mobile phones, MP3 players, PDAs and digital cameras.

"ON Semiconductor is committed to solving the increasingly complex ESD protection problems faced by our customers", said Mamoon Rashid, ON Semiconductor Vice President and General Manager of the Discrete Products Division.

"The new ESD9L device is the debut product of what will be a complete family of ESD protection solutions developed with our proprietary technology".

"Additional circuit protection solutions will be introduced that target the various challenges facing today's digital consumer product designers".

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