New Diode Pair Shield High-Speed Ports From ESD

Said to protect USB 2.0, Firewire, Gigabit Ethernet and other high-speed data ports from ESD without sacrificing data rates or signal quality, the PicoGuard CM1210 family provides up to ±6 kV contact protection, per IEC61000-4-2, with only 1 pF of input capacitance. Conventional ESD devices work well for slower speed ports, but reportedly add too much capacitive loading to high-speed ports, causing unacceptable levels of signal distortion. The new devices offer 1, 2, 4 or 8 integrated channels of ESD protection, with each channel consisting of a pair of diodes for steering the ESD current pulse to either positive (Vp) or negative Vn) supply rails. Other CM1210 features include a low insertion loss, low clamping voltage, and sub-nanosecond response times. The devices come in SOT23, SOT143, SC70 and MSOP packages, with prices ranging from $0.26 each/10,000 for CM1210-1 devices to $0.51 for CM1210-08 types. For more details, call Joe Salvador at CALIFORNIA MICRO DEVICES CORP., Milpitas, CA. (408) 934-3114.