Current needs for ESD protection elements

Recently, the demand for TVS (ESD protection devices) has increased dramatically, and Semtech's TVS products are being adopted all over the world.
As time goes on, more and more customers want to use our products to design in new applications and environments.

In particular, the requirements for "off-chip" (external to the IC) ESD protection appear to have changed significantly from 10 years ago.
In the past, attempts have been made to pass system-level ESD testing according to IEC61000-4-2 without external ESD protection components.
The reason behind this is that they often made use of board layout techniques or relied on the robust protection circuits inside the old transceivers.
However, these days, it's rare to see designers taking that approach.

Today, there is no longer any question that system-level ESD protection is essential for electronic devices.
Furthermore, as modern IC process technologies shrink, well-designed protection solutions become even more important.

Current market demands for ESD protection capabilities

The current market demand for improved ESD protection is not a coincidence, but part of a trend we have foreseen in the past. The need for high-performance "off-chip" IC protection has led to:
This is a direct result of the shrinking process node technology.
IC manufacturers are striving to design smaller, faster, and more efficient data communications transceiver devices, starting with increasing integration density per wafer.
Secondly, the trend is further driven by the lower power consumption of these chips, as consumers demand faster processing in smaller form factors.

When it comes to smart electronics, each generation of products coming to market is becoming faster, more efficient and smaller.
Even if electronic devices don't get smaller than their previous generation, they tend to incorporate more features, such as faster interfaces.
However, as ICs become faster and smaller, their resistance to ESD and transient voltages decreases exponentially. One major customer reported that when the process node for their transceiver ICs shifted from 22nm to 16nm, they encountered greater-than-expected ESD vulnerability and EMC issues.

Compact, high-performance Z-Pak™ package

Semtech developed the small, high-performance Z-Pak™ package, making it the only company to offer such a wide range of protection devices with unmatched surge protection in a smaller package.

Z-Pak™ is the leading solution for transient voltage suppression (TVS) protection in portable and consumer electronics.
This high-performance protection device is housed in an ultra-small 0603 (0.6mm x 0.3mm) package and is versatile enough to protect portable and consumer electronics from dangerous electrostatic discharge (ESD) and transient voltage threats.
Combining industry-leading ESD protection technology in an ultra-small footprint gives designers the flexibility to implement cutting-edge transient voltage protection without sacrificing board space.
The device exceeds industry ESD standard testing (IEC61000-4-2 Level 4) for both air and contact ESD discharges, while consuming only a fraction of the board space required for TVS components with similar protection.

For more information about the Z-Platform, please visit the Semtech website below.

Summary

With the recent trend toward miniaturization of ICs, system-level ESD protection has become a challenging issue.
New applications require highly engineered protection devices.
Semtech is committed to supporting these solutions in all areas, including sales, applications, marketing, design, product engineering and operations.
As time goes on, more and more design involvement is required to provide specific solutions tailored to specific physical layers (PHYs) and their tolerances.
It's amazing how Semtech's ESD protection technology continues to rapidly expand worldwide. Semtech has deployed highly sophisticated, cutting-edge transient protection solutions on an astounding scale.
As the years go by and these products become more widespread, there is no doubt that TVS will continue to offer the best transient voltage protection products in the world.
Semtech is one of the few companies in the world with the history, technology and global reach to meet the diverse and emerging needs of the protection market.
For over 30 years, we have provided high performance ESD and transient voltage protection solutions to protect cutting-edge data interfaces in industrial, communications, and automotive applications.

For more information about Semtech's protective product lineup, please contact Macnica.