[Elecraft] K3 ESD

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

I knew that comment would get someone to jump in Dave ;-) 

IMX it is much, much harder to damage a diode, even a Schottky, than most
MOSFET/FET devices. Also I agree that some RF bipolars, particularly those
using the "planar" process that puts a crazy number of bipolar transistors
in parallel on the same substrate, can be very touchy. 

I was trying to differentiate the really sensitive stuff from the relatively
insensitive stuff such has most audio/power bipolars and common diodes. 

If the part comes in ESD packaging, it's smart to treat it as ESD sensitive.


Ron AC7AC

-----Original Message-----

That's a bit of a careless generalization.

Almost any RF bipolar transistor or RF bipolar IC can be rather easily 
damaged by ESD .... they typically have very shallow junctions and 
require very little current to puncture in the reverse bias direction.   
Almost any small signal Schottky diode or IC with Schottky diode clamps 
can be easily damaged by ESD.

I know ... I used to manage a large enterprise that manufactured them.

Dave   AB7E