Transmission Line Pulse (TLP) is a measurement technique used in the Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) arena to

characterize performance attributes of devices under ESD stresses. TLP is able to obtain current versus voltage (I−V)

curves in which each data point is obtained with a 100 ns long pulse, with currents up to 40 A. TLP was first used

in the ESD field to study human body model (HBM) in integrated circuits, but it is an equally valid tool in the field

of system level ESD. The applicability of TLP to system level ESD is illustrated in Figure 1, which compares an

8 kV IEC 61000−4−2 current waveform with TLP current pulses of 8 and 16 A. The current levels and time

duration for the pulses are similar and the initial rise time for the TLP pulse is comparable to the rise time of the

IEC 61000−4−2’s initial current spike. This application note will give a basic introduction to TLP measurements and

explain the datasheet parameters extracted from TLP for SDI Technology’s protection products.

ESD1811CDN

Rev :

www.leiditech.com

01.06.2018

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