Transient protection for high speed data communication applications

This paper is concerned with the protection of high speed data lines from damage caused by ESD and EOS (electrical overstress) transients. When a data communications network is implemented with an electrical physical layer there is a possibility of transient damage to the electronic systems. This can happen when the network is configured, through mechanisms such as ESD and cable charging, and during operation by induced transients and power supply disturbances. The problem of protecting such systems is becoming increasingly difficult as greater levels of circuit integration make the cable interface electronics more susceptible to transients and higher frequencies of operation make the system more sensitive to the electrical loading introduced by protection networks. In this paper, examples are given based on the author's practical experience with computer disk file subsystem development, although the basic principles are relevant to many other data communication standards and applications. The growth of this sector in such areas as computer networking and data storage has focused attentions on how such systems can be protected from electrical transients.