It is known that electrostatic discharge (ESD) is one of the frequent causes of integrated circuit failure and loss of spacecraft. However, the danger is not only the pulse itself but also the cross talk from it at the near (NEXT) and far (FEXT) ends. To investigate the possibility of their attenuating by meander line (ML) with a broadside coupling, a coupled microstrip line (MSL) was studied. As a result, the structure with a protected active line appeared to be the most promising. Also, the levels of NEXT and FEXT in it do not exceed 2% and 1.5% of half of the e.m.f. at s = 1000 µm, and when s = 100 µm 10% and 3%. In addition to evaluating signal attenuation, N-norms were analyzed as well. The most noteworthy is the nonlinear nature of the change in N2 depending on s. It is also notable that the proposed protection of the line from cross talk leads to a decrease in N1, N2, and N5. However, N3 and N4 increase at the same time.
Cite this article as: G. Y. Kim and A. V. Nosov, “Electrostatic discharge cross talk attenuation in protective meander lines,” Electrica, 24(2), 385-391, 2024.