SLAA689B December   2015  – August 2021 CC430F6125 , CC430F6126 , CC430F6127 , CC430F6135 , CC430F6137 , CC430F6147 , MSP430AFE221 , MSP430AFE222 , MSP430AFE223 , MSP430AFE231 , MSP430AFE232 , MSP430AFE233 , MSP430AFE251 , MSP430AFE252 , MSP430AFE253 , MSP430BT5190 , MSP430F1101 , MSP430F1101A , MSP430F1111A , MSP430F112 , MSP430F1121 , MSP430F1121A , MSP430F1122 , MSP430F1132 , MSP430F122 , MSP430F1222 , MSP430F123 , MSP430F1232 , MSP430F133 , MSP430F135 , MSP430F147 , MSP430F1471 , MSP430F148 , MSP430F1481 , MSP430F149 , MSP430F1491 , MSP430F155 , MSP430F156 , MSP430F157 , MSP430F1610 , MSP430F1611 , MSP430F1612 , MSP430F167 , MSP430F168 , MSP430F169 , MSP430F2001 , MSP430F2002 , MSP430F2003 , MSP430F2011 , MSP430F2012 , MSP430F2013 , MSP430F2013-EP , MSP430F2101 , MSP430F2111 , MSP430F2112 , MSP430F2121 , MSP430F2122 , MSP430F2131 , MSP430F2132 , MSP430F2232 , MSP430F2234 , MSP430F2252 , MSP430F2254 , MSP430F2272 , MSP430F2274 , MSP430F233 , MSP430F2330 , MSP430F235 , MSP430F2350 , MSP430F2370 , MSP430F2410 , MSP430F2416 , MSP430F2417 , MSP430F2418 , MSP430F2419 , MSP430F247 , MSP430F2471 , MSP430F248 , MSP430F2481 , MSP430F249 , MSP430F2491 , MSP430F2616 , MSP430F2617 , MSP430F2618 , MSP430F2619 , MSP430F412 , MSP430F413 , MSP430F4132 , MSP430F415 , MSP430F4152 , MSP430F417 , MSP430F423 , MSP430F423A , MSP430F425 , MSP430F4250 , MSP430F425A , MSP430F4260 , MSP430F427 , MSP430F4270 , MSP430F427A , MSP430F435 , MSP430F4351 , MSP430F436 , MSP430F4361 , MSP430F437 , MSP430F4371 , MSP430F438 , MSP430F439 , MSP430F447 , MSP430F448 , MSP430F4481 , MSP430F449 , MSP430F4491 , MSP430F4616 , MSP430F46161 , MSP430F4617 , MSP430F46171 , MSP430F4618 , MSP430F46181 , MSP430F4619 , MSP430F46191 , MSP430F47126 , MSP430F47127 , MSP430F47163 , MSP430F47166 , MSP430F47167 , MSP430F47173 , MSP430F47176 , MSP430F47177 , MSP430F47183 , MSP430F47186 , MSP430F47187 , MSP430F47193 , MSP430F47196 , MSP430F47197 , MSP430F477 , MSP430F478 , MSP430F4783 , MSP430F4784 , MSP430F479 , MSP430F4793 , MSP430F4794 , MSP430F5212 , MSP430F5214 , MSP430F5217 , MSP430F5219 , MSP430F5222 , MSP430F5224 , MSP430F5229 , MSP430F5232 , MSP430F5234 , MSP430F5237 , MSP430F5239 , MSP430F5242 , MSP430F5244 , MSP430F5247 , MSP430F5249 , MSP430F5252 , MSP430F5253 , MSP430F5254 , MSP430F5255 , MSP430F5256 , MSP430F5257 , MSP430F5258 , MSP430F5259 , MSP430F5304 , MSP430F5308 , MSP430F5309 , MSP430F5310 , MSP430F5324 , MSP430F5325 , MSP430F5326 , MSP430F5327 , MSP430F5328 , MSP430F5329 , MSP430F5333 , MSP430F5335 , MSP430F5336 , MSP430F5338 , MSP430F5340 , MSP430F5341 , MSP430F5342 , MSP430F5358 , MSP430F5359 , MSP430F5418 , MSP430F5418A , MSP430F5419 , MSP430F5419A , MSP430F5435 , MSP430F5435A , MSP430F5436 , MSP430F5436A , MSP430F5437 , MSP430F5437A , MSP430F5438 , MSP430F5438A , MSP430F5500 , MSP430F5501 , MSP430F5502 , MSP430F5503 , MSP430F5504 , MSP430F5505 , MSP430F5506 , MSP430F5507 , MSP430F5508 , MSP430F5509 , MSP430F5510 , MSP430F5513 , MSP430F5514 , MSP430F5515 , MSP430F5517 , MSP430F5519 , MSP430F5521 , MSP430F5522 , MSP430F5524 , MSP430F5525 , MSP430F5526 , MSP430F5527 , MSP430F5528 , MSP430F5529 , MSP430F5630 , MSP430F5631 , MSP430F5632 , MSP430F5633 , MSP430F5634 , MSP430F5635 , MSP430F5636 , MSP430F5637 , MSP430F5638 , MSP430F5658 , MSP430F5659 , MSP430F6433 , MSP430F6435 , MSP430F6436 , MSP430F6438 , MSP430F6458 , MSP430F6459 , MSP430F6630 , MSP430F6631 , MSP430F6632 , MSP430F6633 , MSP430F6634 , MSP430F6635 , MSP430F6636 , MSP430F6637 , MSP430F6638 , MSP430F6658 , MSP430F6659 , MSP430F6720 , MSP430F6720A , MSP430F6721 , MSP430F6721A , MSP430F6723 , MSP430F6723A , MSP430F6724 , MSP430F6724A , MSP430F6725 , MSP430F6725A , MSP430F6726 , MSP430F6726A , MSP430F6730 , MSP430F6730A , MSP430F6731 , MSP430F6731A , MSP430F6733 , MSP430F6733A , MSP430F6734 , MSP430F6734A , MSP430F6735 , MSP430F6735A , MSP430F6736 , MSP430F6736A , MSP430F6745 , MSP430F67451 , MSP430F67451A , MSP430F6746 , MSP430F67461 , MSP430F67461A , MSP430F6747 , MSP430F67471 , MSP430F67471A , MSP430F6748 , MSP430F67481 , MSP430F67481A , MSP430F6749 , MSP430F67491 , MSP430F67491A , MSP430F67621 , MSP430F67621A , MSP430F67641 , MSP430F67641A , MSP430F6765 , MSP430F67651 , MSP430F67651A , MSP430F6766 , MSP430F67661 , MSP430F67661A , MSP430F6767 , MSP430F67671 , MSP430F67671A , MSP430F6768 , MSP430F67681 , MSP430F67681A , MSP430F6768A , MSP430F6769 , MSP430F67691 , MSP430F67691A , MSP430F6769A , MSP430F6775 , MSP430F67751 , MSP430F67751A , MSP430F6776 , MSP430F67761 , MSP430F67761A , MSP430F6776A , MSP430F6777 , MSP430F67771 , MSP430F67771A , MSP430F6777A , MSP430F6778 , MSP430F67781 , MSP430F67781A , MSP430F6778A , MSP430F6779 , MSP430F67791 , MSP430F67791A , MSP430FE423 , MSP430FE4232 , MSP430FE423A , MSP430FE4242 , MSP430FE425 , MSP430FE4252 , MSP430FE425A , MSP430FE427 , MSP430FE4272 , MSP430FE427A , MSP430FG4250 , MSP430FG4260 , MSP430FG4270 , MSP430FG437 , MSP430FG438 , MSP430FG439 , MSP430FG4616 , MSP430FG4617 , MSP430FG4618 , MSP430FG4619 , MSP430FG477 , MSP430FG478 , MSP430FG479 , MSP430FG6425 , MSP430FG6426 , MSP430FG6625 , MSP430FG6626 , MSP430FR2032 , MSP430FR2033 , MSP430FR2110 , MSP430FR2111 , MSP430FR2311 , MSP430FR2433 , MSP430FR2532 , MSP430FR2533 , MSP430FR2632 , MSP430FR2633 , MSP430FR4131 , MSP430FR4132 , MSP430FR4133 , MSP430FR5720 , MSP430FR5721 , MSP430FR5722 , MSP430FR5723 , MSP430FR5724 , MSP430FR5725 , MSP430FR5726 , MSP430FR5727 , MSP430FR5728 , MSP430FR5729 , MSP430FR5730 , MSP430FR5731 , MSP430FR5732 , MSP430FR5733 , MSP430FR5734 , MSP430FR5735 , MSP430FR5736 , MSP430FR5737 , MSP430FR5738 , MSP430FR5739 , MSP430FR5847 , MSP430FR58471 , MSP430FR5848 , MSP430FR5849 , MSP430FR5857 , MSP430FR5858 , MSP430FR5859 , MSP430FR5867 , MSP430FR58671 , MSP430FR5868 , MSP430FR5869 , MSP430FR5870 , MSP430FR5872 , MSP430FR58721 , MSP430FR5887 , MSP430FR5888 , MSP430FR5889 , MSP430FR58891 , MSP430FR5922 , MSP430FR59221 , MSP430FR5947 , MSP430FR59471 , MSP430FR5948 , MSP430FR5949 , MSP430FR5957 , MSP430FR5958 , MSP430FR5959 , MSP430FR5967 , MSP430FR5968 , MSP430FR5969 , MSP430FR5969-SP , MSP430FR59691 , MSP430FR5970 , MSP430FR5972 , MSP430FR59721 , MSP430FR5986 , MSP430FR5987 , MSP430FR5988 , MSP430FR5989 , MSP430FR5989-EP , MSP430FR59891 , MSP430FR5994 , MSP430FR6820 , MSP430FR6822 , MSP430FR68221 , MSP430FR6870 , MSP430FR6872 , MSP430FR68721 , MSP430FR6877 , MSP430FR6879 , MSP430FR68791 , MSP430FR6887 , MSP430FR6888 , MSP430FR6889 , MSP430FR68891 , MSP430FR6920 , MSP430FR6922 , MSP430FR69221 , MSP430FR6927 , MSP430FR69271 , MSP430FR6928 , MSP430FR6970 , MSP430FR6972 , MSP430FR69721 , MSP430FR6977 , MSP430FR6979 , MSP430FR69791 , MSP430FR6987 , MSP430FR6988 , MSP430FR6989 , MSP430FR69891 , MSP430FW423 , MSP430FW425 , MSP430FW427 , MSP430FW428 , MSP430FW429 , MSP430G2001 , MSP430G2101 , MSP430G2102 , MSP430G2111 , MSP430G2112 , MSP430G2121 , MSP430G2131 , MSP430G2132 , MSP430G2152 , MSP430G2153 , MSP430G2201 , MSP430G2202 , MSP430G2203 , MSP430G2210 , MSP430G2211 , MSP430G2212 , MSP430G2213 , MSP430G2221 , MSP430G2230 , MSP430G2231 , MSP430G2232 , MSP430G2233 , MSP430G2252 , MSP430G2253 , MSP430G2302 , MSP430G2303 , MSP430G2312 , MSP430G2313 , MSP430G2332 , MSP430G2333 , MSP430G2352 , MSP430G2353 , MSP430G2402 , MSP430G2403 , MSP430G2412 , MSP430G2413 , MSP430G2432 , MSP430G2433 , MSP430G2444 , MSP430G2452 , MSP430G2453 , MSP430G2513 , MSP430G2533 , MSP430G2544 , MSP430G2553 , MSP430G2744 , MSP430G2755 , MSP430G2855 , MSP430G2955 , MSP430L092 , MSP430TCH5E , MSP430V294

 

  1.   Trademarks
  2. 1Important Side Effects of the ESD Diodes During Power Cycling
  3. 2Introduction and Clarification of the Specification
  4. 3Considerations During Application Design
    1. 3.1 Consideration of the Correct Supply Circuit
      1. 3.1.1 Power Supplies With Good Current-Sinking Capability
      2. 3.1.2 Power Supplies With Limited Current-Sinking Capability
      3. 3.1.3 Bidirectional Power Supplies
    2. 3.2 Alternative Solutions
      1. 3.2.1 Zener Diodes
      2. 3.2.2 Shunt Regulators
  5. 4Clarification on ESD Diode Current and I/O Output Drive Capability
  6. 5Conclusion
  7. 6References
  8.   Revision History

3.2.2 Shunt Regulators

Shunt regulators like the ATL431 are offered as Zener diode replacements and are a good alternative to a real Zener diode to address the use case described in this application report. The clamping voltage is adjustable by using external resistors, and the regulators have a very low operating current when they are not in clamping state. The most important function is the steep characteristic of the I-V curve at the clamping point. Figure 3-7 is an extract from the ATL431 data sheet that clearly shows the fast increase in current when the clamping voltage of 2.5 V is reached, while the regulator operates at low current below this clamping threshold.

GUID-6C6F933F-1D78-4E44-8296-9561E7D76FFB-low.pngFigure 3-7 Cathode Current vs Cathode Voltage

Experiments using the TPS77033 in combination with the ATL431 prove the concept of protecting the supply for continuous overvoltage caused by extra currents through the ESD diodes. In this example, the supply voltage of 3.3 V for the MSP430 MCU is provided by the TPS77033 (see Figure 3-8).

GUID-CAF21D7A-C4F3-484C-B0E0-F6FB1570896E-low.pngFigure 3-8 Schematic Example Using ATL431

For test purposes, an MSP430F6638 MCU was programmed to stay in LPM3 with a timer active and causing interrupts every 10 ms. At the same time, P1.4 was configured as an input pin and overvoltage (4.4 V with limited current) was applied to this GPIO. This was done so that the current driven to the input pin activates the current path through the ESD diodes to the supply rail. Without the ATL431, an increase of the supply voltage to 3.8 V was observed on the DVCC pin and also on P1.0, which was driven in the timer interrupt service routine.

To calculate the external resistor combination connected to the ATL431, use Equation 1.

Equation 1. VOUT = 1 + R1R2 × Vref – Iref × R1

To consider the reference current specification (Iref) of the ATL43x for output voltage (VOUT) variation, the following equations can be used to calculate the minimum and maximum clamping voltages:

Equation 2. VOUTmin = 1 + 820 kΩ1800 kΩ × 2.5 V – 150 nA × 820 kΩ = 3.52 V
Equation 3. VOUTtyp = 1 + 820 kΩ1800 kΩ × 2.5 V – 30 nA × 820 kΩ = 3.61 V
Equation 4. VOUTmax = 1 + 820 kΩ1800 kΩ × 2.5 V – 0 nA × 820 kΩ = 3.64 V

When the ATL431 was configured for clamping at approximately 3.6 V, no increase above this voltage was seen. This simple experiment proves the principle concept of the proposed protection methodology.

However, if resistor combinations in the range of MΩ are used, the risk of leakage caused by external contamination must be considered during application development.