First automotive 10BASE-T1S OPEN Alliance compliant ESD protection diodes

Nexperia has released the industry's first ESD protection diodes to comply with the OPEN Alliance requirements for use in 10BASE-T1S automotive Ethernet applications. These diodes' exceptionally low capacitance (0.4 pF) means they can also be employed to protect higher speed applications deploying 100BASE-T1 or 1000BASE-T1 in-vehicle networks while maintaining exceptional signal integrity. These diodes offer a single line ESD protection solution with up to 18kV, according to IEC 61000-4-2, and up to 15kV with 1000 discharges, as per OPEN Alliance. These devices are covering the complete range of automotive board net voltages including 12V typically found in cars; 24V for trucks and larger commercial vehicles; and 48V in HEVs and EVs.

"At Nexperia, we are proud to introduce the first diodes to meet the stringent OPEN Alliance requirements for 10BASE-T1S automotive Ethernet applications. These diodes not only enable backward compatibility with legacy standards like LIN and CAN but also support modern in-vehicle networks with exceptional signal integrity. Underscoring our leadership position in ESD protection, this innovation reflects our focus to deliver best-in-class products while helping customers simplify board designs. By bridging the gap between current and future automotive technologies, we're helping our customers build smarter, more versatile, and future-proof vehicles," says Alexander Benedix, head of Product Group Protection and Filtering at Nexperia.

High-bandwidth 100BASE-T1 and 1000BASE-T1 automotive Ethernet networks are playing a key role in advancing automotive connectivity and electrification, but many legacy in-vehicle applications work at lower speeds and are still implemented using older connectivity standards such as CAN and LIN. Interfacing these applications to higher-speed automotive Ethernet networks introduces unneeded complexity and cost, so replacing them with 10BASE-T1S makes sense. This approach permits a single network architecture (automotive Ethernet) to serve the speed necessities of almost every automotive application. Now, automotive subsystem manufacturers can use a single ESD protection diode, the PESD1ETH10L-Q or PESD1ETH10LS-Q, to protect all automotive Ethernet applications against the harmful effects of ESD, simplifying their board designs and supply chains.

The PESD1ETH10L-Q is available in a DFN1006-2 package measuring 1mm x 0.6mm x 0.48mm while the PESD1ETH10LS-Q is available in DFN1006BD-2 measuring 1mm x 0.6mm x 0.37mm with side-wettable flanks to enable AOI in applications that need higher levels of soldering reliability.