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ESD protection of RF-circuit/antenna input

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TPD2E009

Hello,

I work on a radio frequency design in the 900 MHz band with a coaxial antenna connector (50 Ohm impedance).

Our customers will connect whip antennas or other antennas to the coaxial connector. For this reason we need a good ESD protection.

But it is important, that on the one hand the ESD protection doesn't reduce receiving sensitivity (low capacitance) and on the other hand is

compatible with the radio output power of 2Watt.

Can you recommend me the best approach for this problem? Or can you recommend literature?

Thank you very much!

  • Wolfgang, 

    I am looking into this right now. I'll update you by the end of the day.

    Vivek

  • Wolfgang,

    Based on what's in you post, I can recommend TPD2E009. It has a very low capacitance and should be able to handle 900 MHz easily. Can you tell me what you voltage swing will be? Also, if it is only in the positive direction. The TPD2E009 has a zener that allows for +ve swings. Please email me if you find this solution suitable for you. If you have any concerns, please feel free to post it here.

    Vivek

  • Hello Vivek,

    thanky you for your reply. TPD2E009 is very interesting. As you already noted, for a Radio signal the voltage swing will be positive and negative. The output power is 2.5 Watt at 50 Ohm, which corresponds to +/- 16 V peak to peak. If the connected antenna is badly matched, voltage swing will be bigger. My application will be a cellular network GSM application. For this reason I thought that there should be ESD protection devices available that were designed specifically for this purpose. Or do you recommend other methods, like a high pass? What is the state of the art?

    Thank you.

  • Currently, we do not have ESD solution for applications that need such high breakdown voltages. TPD2E009 is not suitable for your application. We are currently working on being able to provide such solutions. I will email you once we have a schedule for such solutions. 

    Vivek