Lightning surge protection semiconductor devices for subscriber telecommunication equipment

Lightning surge protection semiconductor devices have been developed for subscriber telecommunication equipment. The devices utilize transient thermal and low energy dissipation designs to improve surge-handling capability. A fabricated eight-cell device based on transient thermal design and a four-cell device with a thin substrate based on low energy dissipation design have a 1.83 and 1.80 times higher surge-handling capability, respectively, than a conventional device for lightning surge current waveforms of (1.5/30) /spl mu/s.