Littelfuse SIDACtor Protection Thyristors Offer Improved Surge Protection Under Higher Exposure Environments

Recently, Littelfuse Inc. came up with two series of SIDACtor protection thyrist that have been optimized to secure equipment from strong overvoltage transients under high exposure environments. The Pxxx0FNL 3kA and Pxxx0FNL 5kA Series Series thyristors are known for offering improved reliability via multiple higher energy surge level events. Unlike other kind of semiconductors that are based on high power protective entities may get subjected to functional degradation post some surge events. The Pxxx0MEL as well as the Pxxx0FNL Series components are based on semiconductors. These will be able to offer protection even after multiple events of surge without any functional degradation. Specific areas of application of these two Series SIDCACtor protection thyristors include cell towers, telecom based station equipment, CATV amplifiers, AC/UPS high power distribution grids, and uninterrupted battery backup equipment.

Jack Tung, the Global Product Marketing Manager for Littelfuse, adds that, “The Pxxx0MEL 5kA Series and Pxxx0FNL 3kA Series SIDACtor protection thyristors offer on-state voltage values that are much lower than the arc voltage of a traditional gas discharge tube. This low on-state voltage means they can handle much higher surge currents.They also offer a much lower voltage threshold than the clamping voltage of a metal oxide varistor, and can be used in series with clamping devices such as varistors or TVS diodes for protecting AC power input lines.”

There are several benefits that will be offered by these two series. Its lower on-stage voltage state ensures lower thermal accumulation for long-term events. It is pretty different from GDTs (Gas Discharge Tubes) or surge arrestors, these semiconductor crowbar equipment are devoid of any wearing-out mechanism. This allows the device to stand multiple surge events that offer minimal degradation eliminating the requirement to call service personnel for replacing damaged devices.