Electrical – Does ESD pass through capacitors

esd

Do ESD discharges pass through capacitors?

My circuit is shown below. Basically i'm concerned that if there is a DC component to ESD that ESD Sensitive IC 2 may not be protected by the ESD diode. The diode can't be placed earlier because there is DC power on the antenna line which would short through the ESD diode.

schematic

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab

Best Answer

Yes, it can pass through capacitors. For IC2, add another capacitor from Vin to GND -- this will absorb the ESD pulse.

typically ESD is from 100 pF & 2 kV -- so 100 nF will limit the ESD pulse to 2 V.