New range of 15 new Zener diodes for protection of power lines

Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH has expanded its range of Zener diodes with the introduction of 15 additional products. These devices will be employed to protect the power lines of semiconductor devices and equipment from switching surges and long-duration overvoltage pulses. They will be useful in a wide range of applications, including both consumer and industrial settings.

The new CMZBxxA series products feature a planar structure and are developed as successors to the mesa-structured CMZBxx series products, which have been announced as reaching end of life.

The innovative planar structure enables a low reverse current and high reliability, as an oxide film protects the PN junction. Also, fine process adjustments ensure a decreased variation in the Zener voltage between devices.

The new products feature protection against both transient overvoltage pulses and long-duration overvoltage pulses, which are typically challenging for ESD protection diodes to handle. In power lines of equipment, switching surges with long pulse widths of up to milliseconds may be generated when the circuit switches. The new diodes can protect semiconductor devices from switching surges and overvoltage pulses close to DC.

Compared to the CMZBxx series, the new products enhance the specification range of Zener voltage from ±10% (typ.) to ±5% (typ.) and the maximum reverse current (IR) from 10μA to 0.5μA. These improvements help to simplify equipment design and reduce overall power consumption. Additionally, as the new CMZBxxA devices use the same M-FLAT (2.4mm x 4.7mm x 0.98mm) package as the existing series, upgrading does not need any PCB layout changes.

The 15 products in the lineup cover a range of Zener voltage (Vz) from 12V (typ.) to 51V (typ.), supporting a wide range of commonly used voltages.

These new products help to enhance equipment reliability by delivering surge protection for power supply lines.