Recommendations for Effective Circuit Protection

The telecommunications industry is awash with standards, which can be a daunting task to keep track of.  Helping to make sense in the area of circuit protection is a new white paper from Bourns that covers the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-T) K Series recommendations in determining the resistibility of equipment to withstand the effect of overvoltage or overcurrent events.

Outlined in the paper are the various K series resistibility tests and recommended guidelines for the selection of protection components.  A few of the recommendations listed include:

• K.12: “Characteristics of gas discharge tubes (GDTs) for the protection of telecommunications installations”
• K.67: “Expected surges on telecommunications and signaling networks due to lightning”
• K.98: “Overvoltage protection guide for telecommunication equipment installed in customer premises”
• K.102: “Parameters of fixed-voltage thyristor overvoltage protector components used for the protection of telecommunication installations”

In addition to components used for protection, there are recommendations to assist with ITU-T compliance in other areas of the equipment design. For instance, components tested to fulfill certain functionality or safety recommendations:

• K.117: “Primary protector parameters for the surge protection of equipment Ethernet ports”
• K.50: “Safe limits for operating voltages and currents of telecommunication systems powered over the network”
• K.51: “Safety criteria for telecommunication equipment”

Proven in ITU-T compliant applications, Bourns delivers quality protection solutions to match a diverse set of functionality and technology requirements.

Bourns has engineered one of the industry’s broadest lines of circuit protection components.  For example, Bourns® GDTs provide primary and secondary protection to withstand multiple high current energy surges of 25 kA. Well-suited for telecommunications equipment, Bourns’ standard 8 mm GDTs and 5 mm mini series GDTs feature long service life, low capacitance and low insertion loss. An optional, proprietary Switch-Grade Fail-Short is offered on the three-electrode version.

Bourns® Thyristor Surge Protectors are dual or single, unidirectional and bidirectional thyristor surge protectors. Quad and programmable/adjustable gated thyristor surge protectors are also available.

Plus, Bourns has a full range of diode products — from small signal high speed switching diodes with low capacitance and leakage current to power and Schottky diodes for reliable surge protection and voltage rectification. Voltage clamping products are suitable for various applications and packaging, with low power signal rectification.

For the complete list of ITU-T K series recommendations for resistibility to withstand the effect of overvoltage or overcurrent events, please refer to Bourns’ practical white paper:  Bourns® ITU-T Recommendations White Paper