6. What must we do?
We must protect integrated circuits!!!
IC
I/OConnector
ESD Protection Device
ESD Protection Requirements:
• Suppress ESD pulse below IC maximum requirements
• Negligible impact on data line (no signal distortion)
• Small footprint
Data line
7. ESD Capacitors……what are they?
Standard Capacitor with ESD Rating
• Used for general purpose designs
• Filtering, bypassing, timing, etc.
• Not used for protecting IC’s from transients
• May be required to have an ESD rating as to not
fail under anticipated ESD pulses in the field.
ESD Protection Capacitor
• Used specifically to protect other circuits from
ESD pulses
• ESD rating required per specifications
• Designers must determine what capacitance
values will produce effective ESD suppression.
Just because an ESD capacitor has a high ESD rating, it
doesn’t mean it’s good for protecting against ESD!!
ESD capacitor is a capacitor that is rated to a specified ESD value using standardized
testing such as AEC-Q200 or IEC 61000-4-2 and is design controlled throughout the
lifetime of the part to maintain the ESD rating.
Two Functions of an ESD Rated Capacitor
11. MLCC Protection
Absorbing the Charge
Time (ns)
Voltage
Voltage
Time (ns)
No MLCC ESD Protection With MLCC ESD Protection
ICMLCCESD Source
𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶2
𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉
16. Passive Component HBM ESD
Classification Levels
(DC= Direct Contact Discharge, AD = Air Discharge)
Component Classification Maximum Withstand Voltage
1A < 500 V (DC)
1B 500 V (DC) a < 1000 V (DC)
1C 1000 V (DC) a < 2000 V (DC)
2 2000 V (DC) a < 4000 V (DC)
3 4000 V (DC) a < 6000 V (DC)
4 6000 V (DC) a < 8000 V (DC)
5A 8000 V (DC) a < 12,000 V (AD)
5B 12,000 V (AD) a < 16,000 V (AD)
5C 16,000 V (AD) a < 25,000 V (AD)
6 ≥ 25,000 V (AD)
AEC - Q200 - 002 -REV-B
23. Key Takeaways
• ESD causes billions of dollars a year in the electronics industry.
• Almost all designers of electronics that use semiconductors have to be concerned about
potential ESD effects.
• One of the primary methods of ESD protection are ESD capacitors.
• KEMET offers both C0G and X7R ESD rated capacitors.
• KEMET’s ESD offering is tested per AEC-Q200 Human Body Model
• Any capacitor can be used for ESD protection but ESD rated capacitors are guaranteed to
meet certain ESD requirements.
• KEMET will continue to expand their ESD portfolio this year with additional case sizes and
capacitance ranges.