
NUP4201MR6
Power
Supply
V CC
I ESDpos
inductance will provide significant benefits in transient
immunity.
Even with good board layout, some disadvantages are still
present when discrete diodes are used to suppress ESD
Protected Data Line
Device
D1
D2
I ESDpos
I ESDneg
VF + V CC
I ESDneg
events across datalines and the supply rail. Discrete diodes
with good transient power capability will have larger die and
therefore higher capacitance. This capacitance becomes
problematic as transmission frequencies increase. Reducing
capacitance generally requires reducing die size. These
small die will have higher forward voltage characteristics at
? VF
Looking at the figure above, it can be seen that when a
positive ESD condition occurs, diode D1 will be forward
biased while diode D2 will be forward biased when a
negative ESD condition occurs. For slower transient
conditions, this system may be approximated as follows:
For positive pulse conditions:
typical ESD transient current levels. This voltage combined
with the smaller die can result in device failure.
The ON Semiconductor NUP4201MR6 was developed to
overcome the disadvantages encountered when using
discrete diodes for ESD protection. This device integrates a
TVS diode within a network of steering diodes.
Vc = V CC + Vf D1
For negative pulse conditions:
Vc = ? Vf D2
ESD events can have rise times on the order of some
number of nanoseconds. Under these conditions, the effect
D1
D2
D3
D4
D5
D6
D7
D8
of parasitic inductance must be considered. A pictorial
representation of this is shown below.
Power
Supply
V CC
I ESDpos
0
Figure 9. NUP4201MR6 Equivalent Circuit
Protected
Device
Data Line
D1
I ESDpos
I ESDneg
During an ESD condition, the ESD current will be driven
to ground through the TVS diode as shown below.
D2
V C = V CC + Vf + (L diESD/dt)
I ESDneg
Power
Supply
V CC
V C = ? Vf ? (L diESD/
dt)
An approximation of the clamping voltage for these fast
transients would be:
For positive pulse conditions:
Protected
Device
Data Line
D1
D2
I ESDpos
Vc = V CC + Vf + (L di ESD /dt)
For negative pulse conditions:
Vc = ? Vf – (L di ESD /dt)
As shown in the formulas, the clamping voltage (Vc) not
only depends on the Vf of the steering diodes but also on the
L d iESD /dt factor. A relatively small trace inductance can
result in hundreds of volts appearing on the supply rail. This
endangers both the power supply and anything attached to
that rail. This highlights the importance of good board
layout. Taking care to minimize the effects of parasitic
The resulting clamping voltage on the protected IC will
be:
Vc = VF + V TVS .
The clamping voltage of the TVS diode is provided in
Figure 8 and depends on the magnitude of the ESD current.
The steering diodes are fast switching devices with unique
forward voltage and low capacitance characteristics.
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