Circuit Protection Products See Increased Operating Conditions

AVX has increased the operating conditions of many circuit protection products, including the 1206 multilayer varistors (MLVs). Now with working voltages up to 50 Vac, they offer solutions for overvoltage, in-rush current protection and EMI filtering problems. AVX offers technology in several areas of circuit protection for industrial equipment, including antennas, automotive electronics and ESD protection.

As the industry transitions to lead-free (high-temperature) soldering processes as part of the overall compliance with regulatory agency requirements to reduce lead and other hazardous substances, AVX has developed several proprietary termination techniques to ensure that components can be reliably soldered using the new processes. This includes the development of a proprietary process to passivate the surface of ceramic components—particularly MLVs—enabling them to have significantly thicker nickel plating on their terminations, which gives them exceptional solder strength.

Within this line of products are devices that offer small component size, high power density and enhanced signal integrity. For example, the AccuGuard 0402 thin-film fuses house two varistors in a 0405 package. LCT feedthru filters and feedthru varistors feature current ratings as high as 5 A. TransGuard MLVs have energy ratings up to 12 J.