Transient protection for a 17V DC rail
The SMAJ17A-13: With a reverse standoff of 17V, it sits below the rail voltage and stays out of the way during normal operation. That 27.6V clamp is what the downstream silicon sees — keep it below the absolute maximum of the powered ICs.
Rated 400W peak pulse power for the standard 10/1000µs waveform. This is the energy-handling spec: the diode absorbs a 400W pulse for that duration without failing. For shorter transients (like 8/20µs from ESD), the peak power capability is higher — the 400W figure is the conservative benchmark for a millisecond-scale surge. On a 17V rail feeding a microcontroller or sensor module, this covers most industrial transient events short of a direct lightning strike.
Package and temperature range
Housed in a DO-214AC (SMA) surface-mount package, the SMAJ17A-13 fits a standard small-footprint layout — two pads, no heatsink needed at this power level. The wide temp range is typical for TVS diodes; the junction handles the self-heating from repeated clamping without derating concerns within the 400W pulse limit.