SMT Gas Discharge Tubes Offer Higher Surge Ratings

Littelfuse introduce two new series of miniature surface-mount two-terminal Gas Discharge Tubes (GDTs) designed to protect sensitive electronics from low-to-medium level lightning-induced surges and other voltage transients. The 3.5mm diameter size of the CG6 Series Miniature SMT GDT makes it the world’s smallest two-electrode single chamber GDT available on the market. It is also the first SMT GDT with two square terminals that offers 3kA (8/20µs), surge withstand capability (10 shots).

The CG7 Series provides surge handling capability up to 1kA @ 8/20μs (10 shots) in a miniature SMT footprint with one square and one round terminal. Both series provide rapid response to fast-rising transients and have ultra-low capacitance, which helps to minimize insertion and return losses to ensure signal integrity in high-speed applications.

CG6 and CG7 Series GDTs are well suited for a broad range of applications, including broadband equipment, satellite and CATV equipment, dataline and Ethernet (up to 10bE) equipment, ADSL equipment, xDSL equipment, general telecom equipment, G.Fast modems, Embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapters (EMTAs), set-top boxes, RF connectors, Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) equipment, base station RF antenna transmitters, and IADs (Internet Access Devices).

“For space-limited applications, compact surface-mount devices like these are gaining popularity fast and the square terminals on these new devices help improve manufacturing efficiency during PCB assembly,” said Stephen Li, Product Manager for the GDT lines. “The CG6 and CG7 Series are perfect for applications that demand a combination of a miniature SMT footprint, low insertion loss, and fast response to surges.”

The CG6 and CG7 Series GDTs offer these key benefits:

• Their low-to-medium surge capability allows for greater design flexibility by offering two new GDT options for applications with surge protection requirements up to 3kA
• Their ultra-low (< 0.3 pF) capacitance minimizes insertion losses to ensure signal integrity, which makes them ideal for high-speed broadband applications like G.Fast modems
• Their surface mount form factors and square terminals help improve manufacturing efficiency during the PCB assembly process
• Their minimal footprints occupy less board space, leaving more room for other necessary components

Availability

The CG6 Series is provided in a compact SMD package with two square terminals in quantities of 2,000; the CG7 Series is also provided in an even smaller SMD package with one square terminal in quantities of 2,500. Both are provided in tape & reel packaging. Sample requests can be placed through authorized Littelfuse distributors worldwide.