Issue link: https://resources.mouser.com/i/1502091
repairs, limit damage to nonessential or replaceable components, improve safety, and help designs conform to market regulations. These combined benefits make circuit protection devices essential in all modern electronics across all industries. The challenges that circuit protection presents However, circuit protection designs can introduce some disadvantages, such as increased system cost (due to a need for more components), potential interference with signal integrity, and the need to replace damaged sacrificial components. Protection devices that respond too slowly can still leave sensitive components susceptible to damage, and not correctly sizing surge-protection devices either leaves a board unusable after protection circuitry is used, or, worse, can result in damaged components in the circuit. But regardless of these challenges, circuit protection should always be incorporated due to the overwhelming advantages provided. Thermal protection meets circuit protection Circuit protection and thermal management are two important aspects intertwined in any electronic device. In the absence of superconductors, all circuits must deal with joule heating, a process in which electrical energy is converted into heat. Excess heat can cause reliability problems and eventually damage the electronic components. Here is where the discipline of thermal management comes in, with a focus on mitigating the effects of excess heat on electronic devices. How Bourns ® Mini- breakers protect against thermal damage Bourns ® Mini-breakers are innovative surface mount protection devices designed to provide overtemperature protection. They are specifically designed to deal with overtemperature situations and offer independent overtemperature protection. Mini-breakers have independent conductors and temperature triggers, which are bimetal discs calibrated to trip between 55 ° C C h a p t e r 2 | C i r c u i t P r o t e c t i o n One of the biggest risks of under-sizing protection components is that, during a surge, the protection device can be damaged allowing the remainder of the surge to continue toward the device being protected." Wayne Dossey Technical Marketing Engineer, Circuit Protection Division, Bourns, Inc. 12 Passives and Their Emerging Applications