Bourns – Breakthrough transient current suppressors deliver ultra-fast circuit protection

A breakthrough line of transient current suppressor (TCS) devices has been announced by Bourns, providing ultra-fast and highly-reliable circuit protection to high data rate signal lines such as those used in xDSL and Gigabit Ethernet (GbE).

Bourns used its extensive circuit protection expertise to innovatively design solutions that combine advanced surge protection with excellent system performance and cost-effectiveness. The TCS DL-Series ultra-fast reacting devices negligibly affect the signal performance of high-speed communication ports unlike typical high capacitance protectors.

The devices are high-speed, bi-directional, low resistance, automatically resettable, compact current limiting devices that protect circuits from over-current surges. Protecting within nanoseconds, the devices are capable of significantly reducing latency common in most circuit protection designs, and limit the let-through energy that could potentially damage sensitive electronic circuits. A solution consisting of a TCS device and an over-voltage protector such as a clamping diode offers OEMs a superior over-voltage and over-current protection solution.

“Bourns designed its innovative and ultra high-speed TCS™ devices to provide designers a high performance and cost-effective circuit protection alternative for sensitive xDSL and Gigabit Ethernet port line drivers,” said Ian Doyle, product line manager for semiconductor products, Bourns, Inc. “DSL and Ethernet interfaces are increasingly exposed to surge threats and Bourns TCS solutions reliably protect low voltage driver and receiver components from damage from lightning surges without compromising performance. The small footprint of these new devices simplifies retrofitting or upgrading of existing equipment at minimum redesign costs. In most cases, designers can simply add a TCS device to an existing TVS protection design.”

The Bourns TCS DL-Series provides an integrated solution that minimizes board size, design and manufacturing costs for faster time-to-market. The new devices also help to reduce costly field failures and help end-users decrease expensive maintenance, repair and system downtime costs, says the company.