An Ethernet Cable Discharge Event (CDE) test and measurement system

A Cable Discharge Event (CDE) is an electrostatic discharge between a cable and a connector. CDEs occur on unshielded Ethernet based communication interfaces and inject currents into the pins directly [1-3]. The charging processes are in general understood; however, the discharge processes are complicated due to the number of pins involved and their connections to a system. Based on an understanding of the factors which determine the severity of a CDE, this article describes how to setup a variety of repeatable CDE tests and how to analyze the measurement results.