Surges represent transients that might be induced in cables by lightning. By their nature, fairly high energy charges may easily damage or upset unprotected electronics circuits and components. Surges are not a new problem. Many companies have been testing their products at various stages of the products life: design tests, qualification tests, production tests and diagnostic tests.
The advance of surge suppression devices and technique does not lessen the importance of surge testing, but rather increases it, as the requirement to reduce power consumption and to increase the operational speed of semiconductors has become more demanding. In addition, the issue of surge testing is attracting renewed interest since this form of immunity is now a must for almost all electronic products for access to the global market.