Are avalanche-rated mosfets immune to ESD?

_Nothing_ is ESD immune. It's all black magic. A fart let slightly off-center will trigger an ESD event ;-)

...Jim Thompson

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So you don't know then? :)

I find it amusing that those huge 1.5KE TVS diodes come with big yellow stickers on the reels - "WARNING STATIC SENSITIVE COMPONENTS".

To clarify, I mean when in-circuit. Do I need to protect a mosfet output against ESD? It seems to me that I don't, since the part should avalanche for the duration of the ESD event.

Of course not. Like I say, "It's all black magic." And I be not kidding.

Most chips are ESD-damage-prone until soldered to the PCB.

...Jim Thompson

_Large_ MOS devices (at outputs... i.e. drains) rarely need any ESD protection.... they self-protect by turning on. And you are correct, under those conditions the energy rating would prevail.

...Jim Thompson

Vaccuum tubes!

Bob

That probably pertains more to EMP.

Bob

What are those then... do they come in sot-23?

SOT23-5 or SOT23-6

-- Thanks, Fred.

But most chips are "ESD-damage-prone" until soldered onto the PCB