8.3.1.1 ESD Diodes

ESD diodes are incorporated to protect the ADC inputs from possible ESD events occurring during the manufacturing process and during PCB assembly when manufactured in an ESD-controlled environment. For system-level ESD protection, consider the use of external ESD protection devices for pins that are exposed to ESD, including the analog inputs.

If either input is driven below AVSS – 0.3 V, or above AVDD + 0.3 V, the internal protection diodes may conduct. If these conditions are possible, use external clamp diodes, series resistors, or both to limit the input current to the specified maximum value.