STMicroelectronics Sets New Standard for High-Speed Multimedia Interface Protection

As a next-generation protection IC with the lowest capacitance
DisplayPort, HDMI, USB 3.0, and eSATA devices
Prevents ESD damage while maintaining high-definition video

STMicroelectronics ( www.st.com ), the world's leading company in consumer electronics protection devices, has launched Transient Voltage Suppressors (TVS) that support enhanced HD (high-definition) video quality with the lowest capacitance, improving ESD protection performance for DisplayPort monitors and PCs. DisplayPort is expected to be adopted in approximately 100 million portable PCs by 2013 and used as a high-speed multimedia interface for outputting high-definition images.

External connection interfaces similar to DisplayPort, such as HDMI, USB 3.0, and eSATA, require high-performance protection devices due to their high signal speeds. These devices are connected to each pin of the external connector to absorb or divert ESD pulse energy, but the capacitance added to the signal line must be minimized to avoid degrading image quality.

ST's new transient voltage suppressor, the ESDAXLC6-1MY2, is a high-speed multimedia interface protection device that meets relevant industry standard ESD protection requirements while maintaining image quality due to its extremely low capacitance. This XLC (eXtremely Low Capacitance) device adds a load of up to 0.35 pF to the signal line. This low capacitance enables a signal bandwidth of 6–7 GHz, allowing 2.7 Gb/s data streams from the DisplayPort interface to pass through without distortion. ST’s new TVS can also protect HDMI, USB 3.0, and eSATA interfaces with similar channel data rates.

Since it has the same footprint and pin alignment as previous devices with higher capacitance, ST's new TVS can be used as a direct upgrade to existing products or as a secondary source, and is convenient for new designs.