[ASK] Stacking up multiple TVS in series

[BravoV]

Currently I have only 5 Volt rated TVS in stock, plan is to protect power mosfet's Vgs (non logic level Vgs@20V max) by using 3 of these 5 volt TVSes connected in series to get up to 15 volt, also its only one off ad hoc project.

Will these work ?

[rs20]

Yeah, more or less. Your inaccuracies will be tripled, maybe check that it actually does shunt at the absolute max Vgs. Otherwise a nominal 5V TVS which actually trips at 8V * 3V = 24V Vgs and a dead mosfet. But the reason that

By contrast, things like gas discharge tubes and trisils cannot be used in series, because the V/I curve is discontinuous so you might end up with weird halfway states. But TVSs just have a nice monotonic VI curve; and putting them in series just triples the voltages.

[BravoV]

rs20, thank you ! 

[Kjelt]

Interesting, going to test this soon, saves me also an extra component to order