Automotive surge protection ICs
22 August 2012
Circuit & System Protection
STMicroelectronics is helping vehicle electronics manufacturers deliver safer, more reliable systems by offering surge protection devices certified to the automotive industry’s preferred specifications.
Surge protection prevents unwanted voltage pulses in the vehicle wiring from damaging sensitive subsystems such as safety systems, control modules and infotainment equipment. Pulses can be caused by events such as electrostatic discharges (ESD) from occupants, turn-on/off of subsystems such as motor drives or climate control, or load dumps when a significant load such as the battery is suddenly disconnected.
According to ST, designers have historically chosen from devices certified to industrial standards that specify pulse shapes unrepresentative of those expected in road vehicles. ST’s SM4TY-SM30TY series of Transil miniature surge protection devices are certified to pulse specifications used by the automotive industry.
They are also qualified to the AEC-Q101 automotive reliability test standard for discrete semiconductors, and have a full Automotive-Grade Approval Certificate (AGAC). This saves designers researching for equivalence between industrial and automotive standards, and then re-certifying each new subsystem design independently.
The devices are housed in miniature surface-mount power packages occupying from 12,8 mm² to 46 mm² of printed circuit board space, capable of handling from 400 W to 3000 W of power contained in pulses and ESD transients present on the vehicle wiring.
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