Nexperia releases industry’s first ESD protection diodes for 48 V EV communications networks

New products save space, cut costs and maintain signal integrity with ultra-low device capacitance even at higher data rates

Nijmegen, July 2, 2025: Nexperia today introduced the industry’s first ESD diodes designed to protect 48 V automotive data communications networks against the destructive effects of electrostatic discharge (ESD) events. This new portfolio of six robust AEC-Q101 qualified devices covers the required higher reverse working maximum voltage (VRWM) for increasingly common 48 V board nets. This ultimately saves PCB space and system cost while maintaining signal integrity even at higher data rates.

While data communications protocols like controller area network (CAN) and its flexible data rate variant (CAN-FD), as well as local interconnect network (LIN) and FlexRay have been around for several decades, their proven reliability in lower speed applications means they continue to feature in even the most recent automobiles, including electric (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) models. However, unlike conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles that have a 12 V battery, or commercial vehicles that feature a 24 V battery, the higher efficiency requirements of EVs and HEVs mean they are increasingly moving towards using a 48 V battery to power various electrical systems, including these legacy communications networks.

“Until now, automotive equipment manufacturers lacked suitable ESD protection solutions specifically designed for 48 V data lines,” explains Alexander Benedix, Head of Product Group Protection and Filtering at Nexperia. “As a result, they often had to rely on workarounds – either including an additional 12 V power rail or connecting several lower-voltage (36 V) protection diodes in parallel – to ensure their systems were adequately protected. With this new portfolio, designers working with 48 V board nets can now save space and cost while delivering best-in-class ESD protection for their automotive networks”.

For design flexibility, this portfolio features ESD diodes with 54 V (PESD2CANFD54VT-Q and PESD2CANFD54LT-Q), 60 V (PESD2CANFD60VT-Q and PESD2CANFD60LT-Q) and 72 V (PESD2CANFD72VT-Q and PESD2CANFD72LT-Q) maximum reverse working voltages (VRWM). These ultra-low capacitance (down to 3.4 pF) devices are packaged in the widely used standard SOT23 package. The optimized capacitance ensures that signal integrity is not impacted even in higher-speed protocols like CAN-FD.

To learn more about Nexperia’s portfolio of ESD protection diodes for automotive applications, visit: Nexperia.com/can-fd