High-energy series of transient voltage suppressors

Littelfuse AK15 Series of Transient Voltage Suppressor (TVS) devices are rated for up to 15 kA surge current to protect against high-energy transients.

October 18, 2010

The Littelfuse AK15 Series of Transient Voltage Suppressor (TVS) devices prevent destruction of expensive electronic gear from high-energy transients. With their 15 kA surge current rating, AK15 devices provide the highest level of TVS protection available in the industry, the company said. They will be especially useful to manufacturers of mission critical equipment such as cellular telecom infrastructure apparatus, industrial transient voltage surge suppression (TVSS) systems, railway trackside signaling circuitry, highway traffic control signals, and other industrial control equipment. The AK15 Series was designed to provide protection against transients generated by nearby lightning strikes and high-level voltage surges that occur on electrical lines when large industrial equipment is switched on and off.

The AK15 Series are bi-directional devices for use in equipment connected to ac electrical lines, but are also suitable for dc circuit protection. This Series uses Littelfuse’s exclusive Foldbak technology, which lowers clamping voltage levels below the TVS device’s avalanche state, which provides a higher level of protection. Their sharp breakdown voltage provides a fast response to electrical line transients. A 15 kA rating means that electronic OEMs no longer have to gang multiple silicon avalanche diodes to get the level of protection they need. The ultra-compact design of the AK15 Series has 12-times less volume than traditional discrete device solutions. This simplifies circuit design configurations and testing, eliminates component insertion and connection errors on printed circuit boards, and reduces overall manufacturing costs. It also means that protection circuits have lower capacitance and resistance, leading to higher operating efficiencies.

Because the AK15 Series are silicon devices with glass passivated chip construction, they have no inherent wear-out mechanism when operated within their 15 kA rating. This high-reliability design is UL Recognized, halogen-free, and RoHS compliant.

www.littelfuse.com

Littelfuse, Inc.

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– Edited by Amanda McLeman, CFE Media, www.cfemedia.com