factor for response speed. Amount of energy it can absorb: Because the transients are so brief, all of the energy is initially stored internally as heat; a heat sink only affects the time to cool down afterwards. Thus, a high-energy TVS must be physically large. If this capacity is too small, the over voltage will possibly destroy the device and leave the circuit unprotected. See also Trisil Zener diode Surge protector References Further reading TVS/Zener Theory and Design Considerations; ON Semiconductor; 127 pages; 2005; HBD854/D. (Free PDF download) External links What are TVS diodes, Semtech Application Note SI96-01 Transient Suppression Devices and Principles, Littelfuse Application Note AN9768 Transil™ / Trisil™ Comparison, ST application note AN574 Transient Protection Solutions: Transil™ diode versus Varistor, ST application note AN1826 Diodes Voltage stability Electric power systems components