Will sharing a TVS across multiple ports of a data center switch reduce the protection effectiveness?

Sharing a single TVS across multiple ports in a data center switch increases the risk of protection failure due to common impedance coupling. For example, while a TVS array like the ESD0524P (single-device protection for 4 channels) saves space, it shares a grounding loop. When one channel is injected with ESD, the grounding inductance generates L·di/dt, raising the ground potential of other ports by 0.5-1.2V, leading to false triggering. In actual testing, a four-port independent TVS solution (each ESD LC3V3D3B) reduces inter-port crosstalk by 28dB compared to a shared array solution. During ESD ±8kV testing, the bit error rate of adjacent ports in the shared solution is 10⁻⁵, while the independent solution is <10⁻⁹. It is recommended that each differential pair of high-speed signals be configured with an independent TVS. For low-speed signals, arrays can be used with caution, but the number of grounding vias should be increased to ≥4 to reduce common impedance.