Content

Low-Valued Varistor Provides ESD Protection

Dec. 3, 2009

The AntennaGuard SPV series of low capacitance multilayer varistors (MLVs) from AVX Corp. has been expanded to include a sub 0.5-pF version ideal for protecting high-frequency circuits from electrostatic-discharge (ESD) events. The 0402 AntennaGuard SPV series MLV is a low-profile chip that provides better than 1-ns response time to ESD strikes and can withstand 100 successive strikes at 8 kV (according to IEC 610004-2). As Sonja Brown, the firm's Global Product Manager for Circuit Protection Products, explains, "The AntennaGuard SPV series' unique design results in a greater active volume that allows the part to handle higher transient energy, making it the only sub 0.5-pF 0402 MLV on the market that can withstand 100 strikes at 8-kV ESD. It offers customers the fastest ESD response of any multilayer varistor."

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.