Littelfuse Varistors – Basic Properties, Terminology and Theory

What Is A Littelfuse Varistor?
Varistors are voltage dependent, nonlinear devices which have an electrical behavior similar to back-to-back zener diodes. The symmetrical, sharp breakdown characteristics shown in Figure 1 enable the varistor to provide excellent transient suppression performance. When exposed to high voltage transients the varistor impedance changes many orders of magnitude from a near open circuit to a highly conductive level, thus clamping the transient voltage to a safe level. The potentially destructive energy of the incoming transient pulse is absorbed by the varistor, thereby protecting vulnerable circuit components.