Electrostatic discharge protection device for a high density printed circuit board

摘要

An electrostatic discharge protection device for a high-density printed circuit board consists of a layered structure starting at the bottom layer with a ground conductor. A dielectric layer covers the ground conductor to electrically isolate it from a circuit trace that is on top of the dielectric layer. A via is formed in the dielectric layer such that a portion of the ground conductor is exposed, and the via is strategically located such that the edge of the via is tangent to an edge portion of the circuit trace. The via forms a spark gap between the edge portion of the circuit trace and the underlying ground conductor, using air as the dielectric medium.