Littelfuse SIDACtor protection Thyristors enhance surge protection

     Littelfuse announced the launch of two SIDACtor protected thyristor product families designed to protect devices in high-frequency, high-intensity or abnormal environments from severe transient overvoltages. The Pxxx0MEL5kA series and Pxxx0FNL3kA series Sidactors protect thyristors to more reliably handle multiple high energy surge events. Unlike many high-power protection products that do not use semiconductors and experience performance degradation after a few surge events, the Pxxx0MEL and Pxxx0FNL series that use semiconductors can continue to provide protection in the event of multiple surge events without performance degradation.

     "The on-state voltage of the Pxxx0MEL5kA series and Pxxx0FNL3kA series Sidactors protects thyristors much lower than the arc voltage of conventional gas discharge tubes. The lower on-state current means you can handle higher inrush currents." Littelfuse global product marketing manager JackTung said. "They also provide voltage thresholds well below the clamping voltage of metal oxide varistors and can be used in series with clamping devices such as varistors or transient suppression diodes to protect AC power input lines."