A T.V.S., or Transient Suppressor Diode, is a protection diode that's designed to protect your electronic circuits against all manners of transient and overvoltage hazards. These include both electrically fast transients and electrostatic discharge, respectively EFT and ESD. Littelfuse’s TVS are silicon avalanche devices to ensure fast response time and lower capacitance and low leakage current. To guarantee you've selected the proper TVS for your specific needs, there are a few factors to consider:
- Reverse Standoff Voltage (Vr)
- Peak Pulse Current (Ipp)
- Maximum Clamping Voltage (Vc max)
The Reverse Standoff Voltage is considered the most important when selecting the TVS. That is because the Vr's parameter must be greater than or equal to the top operating level of the circuit to be protected – otherwise the TVS may decrease the circuit drive voltage.
Peak Pulse Current refers to the highest amount of current the TVS can withstand without damage. The value is determined by dividing the peak transient voltage by the source impedance. In the event of a transient current the device will be protected because TVS use a short circuit as a failure mechanism.
When the Maximum Clamping Voltage (Vc max) is subjected to a Peak Pulse Current (Ipp) based on a 1ms exponential waveform, the peak voltage appears across the TVS device.
These are all centralized protection examples.
The entire report is accessible here, courtesy of Littelfuse.
By Maximilian Teodorescu
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