APPLICATION NOTE

1011

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Ethernet Protection - A Whole Solution

By: ProTek Devices

Electronic devices and components are vulnerable to the damaging effects of a 10/1000µs waveform. Package configurations include axial lead, surface mount
lightning, electrostatic discharge (ESD) and switching transients. Protecting or cellular discs.
Ethernet equipment such as switches, routers and network cards, while main-
taining performance presents a challenge to design engineers. In addition, high These devices are voltage triggered to the on-state, making the transition
frequencies, low power consumption and a reduction in board space add to the through a turn-on resistance slope, which can be either positive or negative
complexity when choosing the proper protection device for these systems. depending upon chip design. On-state voltage drops across the device is only
a few volts, allowing large surge current conduction by a relatively small chip.
Thyristors typically fail when over-surged.
Transient protection devices
Like GDTs, Thyristors are also used in the telecom sector for protecting subscriber
Transient Voltage Suppressors (TVS) stations and central office exchanges from primary lightning strikes. Thyristors
are also used to protect driver controls for both inductive and resistive loads,
Silicon Avalanche Junction TVS devices contain a P/N junction similar to a Zener fluorescent lighting ballasts and primary and secondary telecom lines.
diode but with a larger cross section, which is proportional to its surge power
rating. Longer duration pulses can be suppressed by increasing the die size and
Steering Diodes
head dissipation. Both voltage and power capability can be increased by stacking
parts in series or parallel.
Steering diode arrays are low capacitance devices that provide high-speed data
line and I/O port protection from transients caused by Electrostatic Discharge
Package configurations for silicon TVS devices range from chip size to large mod-
(ESD), Electrical Fast Transients (EFT) and other induced voltages. These devices
ule units. Silicon TVS devices can be unidirectional or bidirectional for voltages
divert the transient to the power-bus or ground and away from sensitive IC com-
with positive and negative pulses.
ponents. Typical Leakage Current for a steering diode array is 0.1µA, Capacitance
1-5pF and Forward Peak Pulse Current 12-40A.
Silicon TVS devices have a sub-nanosecond response time as well as low clamp-
ing factors (~1.33). These devices do not wear out like MOVs and are available in
a wide voltage range. Overcurrent Protection Components (PTC Resistors or SMD Fuses)

Although rated at lower surge current levels than a MOV, silicon TVS devices are Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) resistors are overcurrent protection
more than adequate for use in protecting signal and low voltage DC bus lines. devices, which function as current limiting components. When an AC power line
For example, a 12 Volt rated 600 Watt device has a 8/20µs surge capability of 140 crosses a data line - as in a power fault situation - a large amount of current flows
Amps. Failure mechanism of a TVS device is a short circuit. through the PTC onto the line. The PTC will heat up, causing its resistance to rise.
The resistance of the PTC will go back to normal when the circuit fault is cleared.
Silicon TVS diodes are used across data lines to protect telecommunication and Due to the effects of insertion loss from the PTC to the data signal, the combina-
microprocessor based monitoring systems. These devices are used in protect- tion of surge rated resistors and fuses are often used to replace PTC resistors.
ing portable electronics, electronic interface I/Os as well as DC power bus lines.
Sub-nanosecond response times and low clamping voltages make these devices Protection Solutions
effective in protecting electronics from the effects of Electrostatic Discharge and
other secondary transient sources. Lightning Transients

Gas Discharge Tubes (GDT) Lightning transients are the most severe threats to electronic systems that are
situated outside of buildings or at the building entrance. A lightning strike has a
Gas Discharge Tubes (GDT) are glass or ceramic packages, filled with inert gases typical peak current of 20 kiloamps and produces intense electric and magnetic
that are ionized by means of electron collision. This causes the device to conduct fields, which can couple into nearby power lines, data lines an circuit wiring caus-
large amounts of current. When a transient voltage exceeds the DC breakdown ing catastrophic or latent damage to equipment/systems.
rating of the device, the electrodes of the gas tube will be triggered. The GDT
will go into breakdown mode and change from a high-resistance state to a virtual A two-stage network - primary and secondary protection - provides a whole solu-
short circuit with a low arc voltage. During this state, the GDT will divert a high tion for Ethernet systems and equipment that are exposed to lightning transients.
level of transient current to protect the equipment. When the transient drops In the exposed environment such as building interface, primary protection is
below the DC holdover voltage and current, the gas tube will return to the off- used by applying damping resistors and high current-rated crowbar devices like
state. Gas Discharge Tubes to shunt the bulk of the surge current.

GDTs can conduct very high surge currents (up to several kiloamps) and can have In order to meet regulatory requirements(GR974-CORE, ITU K2.8 and UL497A),
a capacitance as low as 1pF. The disadvantages of gas discharge tubes are a high building entrance protection devices should be able to withstand over-voltage
firing voltage when circuit dV/dt is large and performance degradation after ratings that exceed 5000 Volts and surge currents up to 250 Amps for Thyristor
each firing. Typically GDTs are using in combination with other transient voltage Surge Suppressors and 10~20kA for Gas Discharge Tubes. Figure 1 shows exter-
suppressors. nal Ethernet I/O port protection. R1 and R2 represent the resistors used to limit
the large current; Z1 and Z2 can be a GDT or a TSS. Both are crowbar devices
Thyristor Surge Suppressors (TSS) used for common-mode protection. In this application, the lines of the twisted
pair are protected to ground.
Thyristor Surge Suppressors (TSS) are solid-state components containing three
P-N junctions, that switch to a low on-state voltage when triggered. They are Inside the building, near the equipment, secondary protection is applied to sup-
small in size compared to their high surge current ratings. Operating voltages press the remaining lightning transient and switching transients. At this stage,
range from 20 Volts to 250 Volts with current ratings of 50 Amps to 200 Amps for

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age. Steering diodes are low in junction capacitance, which reduces insertion
R1
loss of the signals for high-speed Ethernet applications. Figure 3 shows a TVS
Tx+(Rx+) diode/Steering Diode combination protection scheme.

To Ethernet Z Z1 Rx+ GBLC03C

Equipment
Line Side Twisted
RJ45
Egnd Z Z2 Rx- T2 Vcc
SRV05-4
R2 Tx+ GBLC03C
Tx-(Rx-)
Twisted
Figure 1. External Ethernet I/O Protection RJ45

TVS devices are used to divert the transient current, clamp the voltage and keep Tx- T1
the internal circuitry safe . The fast response time and low clamping voltage Line Side Chip Side
of the TVS diodes compensates for the high firing voltage of the gas discharge Figure 3. Secondary Lightning Protection at the Equipment
tubes.
To minimize the path length between the protection devices and the lines, place
Secondary transient protection is recommended for equipment inside the build-
the TVS diodes close to the RJ45 connector and the terminal of the isolation
ing. In order to meet regulatory requirements(IEC 61000-4-5, GR 1089-CORE,
transformer to restrict transient coupling to nearby traces. The total voltage
FCC Part 68, UL497B and ITU-T K20 and K21), the protector should be able to
from the IC chips on the equipment side will be the combination of the TVS
withstand over voltages that exceed 1500 Volts and surge currents up to 100
clamping voltage and the overshoot voltage due to wire inductance. It is impor-
Amps (8/20µs, 10/1000µs or 10/700µs surge waveforms).
tant to make wire traces inductance as small as possible.
Data line protection elements are normally required on both the line side and
Grounding is another concern. Lightning is a common-mode transient, which is
chip side of the line transformers. Line side suppression diverts the build of the
reference to a low impedance ground such as a chassis or a PCB ground plane. A
transient currents, thus protecting the transceiver as well as the transformers.
low impedance grounding system (less than 0.5 Ohms) with minimum disconti-
Chip side protection protects the transceiver IC from fast transient events that
nuities is important for optimal design layout.
are coupled through the transformer due to parasitic winding capacitance.

There are several solutions for secondary lightning protection for Ethernet Electrostatic Discharge
systems. Figure 2 shows the circuit using TVS diodes (Z1, Z2 and Z3). Protection
is imposed on both sides of the magnetic transformer. On the line side of the Electrostatic Discharge(ESD) is a significant threat to electronic components.
isolation transformer, during the metallic lightning surge, a low capacitance TVS ESD is a single, fast, high voltage and high current event resulting from the near
(Z1) provides voltage and current limiting to differential mode surges. On the or direct contact of two objects generating both an electric and magnetic field.
chip side, two TVS devices are shunted to ground to protect the internal IC from Electrostatic Discharge is defined by three models; Human Body Model (HBM),
any residual transient energy that is coupled through the transformer. Machine Model (MM) and Charged Device Model (CDM).

A static charge can accumulate on a device through handling or contact with

Rx+(Tx+) packaging materials or work surfaces. This frequently occurs when a device
moves across a surface or vibrates in a metal tray. The model used to simulate
the transfer of charge between two devices is referred to as the Charged Device
Twisted Model (CDM).
Z1
RJ45
Similarly, Machine Model (MM) refers to the accumulation and transfer of a
charge from equipment to equipment.
Rx-(Tx-) T1
Line Side Z2 Z3 The Human Body Model (HBM) is the most prominent source of ESD, where
simple human contact or air discharge can cause component or product failure
on fixed or handheld equipment. A HBM transient can have a charge greater
than 40 kilovolts with a current over 80 Amps.
Chip Side
Figure 2. Secondary Lightning Protection at the Equipment For low speed I/O (10BaseT) or power supply Ethernet applications flip chip
devices are recommend due to their low cost and small size. For high-speed
applications (Gigabit Ethernet), low capacitance devices like the SR2.8, SLVU2.8-
There are several different choices for the TVS devices depending upon 4, GBLCxxC Series, PLC496 and SRV05-4 would minimize insertion loss. These
how many lines need to be protected (i.e., GBLCxxC Series device versus a devices can be placed close to the RJ45 port or close to the transformer, but on
SLVDA2.8LC). the chip side. A TVS/Steering Diode Array combination device such as the SR2.8
is placed on the line side to suppress line-line ESD transients as shown in Figure
Another solution is to use a steering diode array (i.e., SRV05-4, SR2.8 or PSR05) 4. Another solution is shown in Figure 5 using the PLC496.
at the chip side. The TVS diode provides protection to the power line and the
steering diode directs the transients from the data line to either a power supply
line or ground. This will prevent the transceiver IC from latch-up and other dam-

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Only One Name Means ProTek’Tion™

Rx+
Twisted
RJ45 Rx-
T2

SR2.8 SR2.8

Tx+
Twisted
RJ45
Tx-
T1
Line Side Chip Side
Figure 4. ESD Protection for Ethernet Data Lines

Rx+
Twisted
PLC496
RJ45 Rx-
T2

Tx+
Twisted
PLC496
RJ45
Tx-
T1
Line Side Chip Side
Figure 5. ESD Protection for Ethernet Data Lines

Summary
Lightning and electrostatic discharge transients are threats the Ethernet applica-
tions. A variety of protection strategy are available to counter these transients.
Transient Voltage Suppressors (TVS) in combination with other devices provide
an optimal solution.

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 APPLICATION NOTE
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Only One Name Means ProTek’Tion™

company information
COMPANY PROFILE

ProTek Devices, based in Tempe, Arizona USA, is a manufacturer of Transient Voltage Suppression (TVS) products designed specifically for
the protection of electronic systems from the effects of lightning, Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse (NEMP), in-
ductive switching and EMI/RFI. With over 25 years of engineering and manufacturing experience, ProTek designs TVS devices that provide
application specific protection solutions for all electronic equipment/systems.

ProTek Devices Analog Products Division, also manufactures analog interface, control, RF and power management products.

CONTACT US

Corporate Headquarters
2929 South Fair Lane
Tempe, Arizona 85282
USA

By Telephone
General: 602-431-8101
Sales: 602-414-5109
Customer Service: 602-414-5114

By Fax
General: 602-431-2288

By E-mail:
Sales: [email protected]
Customer Service: [email protected]
Technical Support: [email protected]

Web
www.protekdevices.com
www.protekanalog.com

COPYRIGHT © ProTek Devices 2011 - This literature is subject to all applicable copyright laws and is not for resale in any manner.

SPECIFICATIONS: ProTek reserves the right to change the electrical and or mechanical characteristics described herein without notice.

DESIGN CHANGES: ProTek reserves the right to discontinue product lines without notice and that the final judgement concerning selection and specifications is the buyer’s and that in furnishing engineering
and technical assistance. ProTek assumes no responsibility with respect to the selection or specifications of such products. ProTek makes no warranty, representation or guarantee regarding the suitability of
its products for any particular purpose, nor does ProTek assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit and specifically disclaims any and all liability without limitation special,
consequential or incidental damages.

LIFE SUPPORT POLICY: ProTek Devices products are not authorized for use in life support systems without written consent from the factory.

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