Transient suppressor meets latest comms specs

The Semtech LC03-3.3 is the communications industry's only Telcordia GR-1089-compliant surge protection device for 10/100/1000 Ethernet interfaces.

The Semtech LC03-3.3 is the communications industry's only Telcordia GR-1089-compliant surge protection device for 10/100/1000 Ethernet interfaces.

Typical applications include carrier class Ethernet switches, DSLAMs, fibre to the home (FTTH) and fibre to the premises (FTTP) equipment.

The Semtech LC03-3.3 transient voltage suppressor (TVS) provides a low-cost, easily implemented, standards-compliant solution to protect sensitive integrated circuits connected to high speed data and telecommunications lines from lightning, ESD (electrostatic discharge) and CDE (cable discharge events) that can enter through external plug ports and cause catastrophic damage.

The LC03-3.3 meets these standards without sacrificing signal integrity or PCB real estate.

The device employs Semtech's patented EPD-TVS process technology to achieve superior electrical characteristics at a 3.3V operating level.

And, housed in a standard, 8-lead plastic SO (small outline) package, the device also conserves board space.

Ethernet PHY chips are not designed to handle the high energy surges associated with lightning and ESD events.

Since these chips are routinely manufactured using 0.15-micron and smaller linewidths, they are extremely susceptible to catastrophic damage or upset.

The LC03-3.3 combats this issue by minimising the clamping or protection voltage during high-current surges.

With its rated standoff voltage of 3.3V, the LC03-3.3 "turns on" when the line voltage exceeds 3.5V.

Most surge protection devices clamp at a higher operating voltage, allowing excessive transient energy to be transferred to the protected device.

Internally, the LC03-3.3 uses compensation diodes in a full bridge configuration to reduce the effective loading capacitance to less than 8pF.

This allows signal integrity to be preserved even at the high transmission speeds of GbE interfaces.

Semtech's LC03-3.3 is rated to handle a 100A (8/20us) surge, a key metric for complying with GR-1089 requirements.

"Semtech has been shipping EPD-TVS devices for low voltage ESD protection for several years", says Tom Dugan, Director of Protection Products at Semtech, "and the LC03-3.3 is the first device scaled to meet the higher energy lightning requirements of GR-1089.

Many end users no longer want to use expensive shielded cable on Ethernet-based equipment, so manufacturers must have a GR-1089 compliant solution at the board level.

We now provide that solution".

Semtech's integrated LC03-3.3 can protect one pair of high-speed differential signals (two lines) used in standard 10BaseT (10Mbit/s), 100BaseT (100Mbit/s), or 1000BaseTX (1Gbit/s over copper) Ethernet transceiver interfaces.

The LC03-3.3 offers designers a practical and effective solution for meeting the industry's toughest transient immunity standards, including Telcordia GR-1089 (intra-building), ITU K.20 and IEC61000-4-2 and -5.

Samples of the LC03-3.3 are available immediately, and distributors are currently being stocked for production shipments.

Priced at $1.84 in 10,000-piece lots, the devices are delivered in EIA 481 standard tube, tape and reel packaging.

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